Psychiatric nurses have announced three further days of strikes as its dispute with the Government deepens.

The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) will now strike on 19th, 20th and 21st of February.

It had already announced plans to strike alongside nurses and midwives from the INMO next Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday.

INMO members are also scheduled to strike on February 19th and 21st.

It means 43,000 medical staff will strike next week - 37,000 from the INMO and 6,000 from the PNA.

Up to now, the PNA had restricted its planned action to an overtime ban.

The union is demanding proposals from the Government aimed at addressing the recruitment and retention crisis in psychiatric nursing. 

The union’s general secretary Peter Hughes said this evening’s announcement, “demonstrates the deep frustration of psychiatric nurses at the lack of resolve and urgency by the Government to bring forward realistic proposals that acknowledge the extent of the recruitment and retention crisis in nursing and which will deal with the issue once and for all.”

Meanwhile talks between HSE and Government officials and the INMO are continuing at the Labour Court this evening.

They are engaged in “exploratory” discussions to try and avert the three INMO strike days next week.