The head of one of the country’s nursing unions says the Government walked into the public pay controversy with its eyes wide open.

Yesterday the country’s largest public sector trade union, SIPTU, agreed to give Ministers another two weeks to set a timeline for negotiations.

Pressure is building on the Government since the recent deal negotiated with Gardaí.

Liam Doran of the INMO, says nurses shouldn’t be treated any differently to Gardai: “All those commentators saying the time isn’t right, if it wasn’t Brexit, if it wasn’t Trump-exit or whatever you want to call it, it would be something else.

“The simple harsh reality is this, the Government went into this with their eyes wide open and I have to say as each day passes, I mean it when I say, the anger on the ground among our members is getting more and more palpable.”