Hundreds of thousands of workers on strike across Republic of Ireland

Image source, PA MediaImage caption, The strike action will last 24 hoursByAdam MandevilleBBC News NIPublished14 October 2026, 06:27 BSTUpdated 25 minutes agoMore than 300,000 workers, including nurses, doctors, teachers and civil servants, are on strike across the Republic of Ireland.It comes amid an ongoing pay dispute between public sector workers and the Irish government, with a further strike planned on 21 October. It is expected schools could be closed with hospital appointments cancelled and picket lines formed across the country during the 24-hour strike.At the end of September, more than 100,000 workers, including nurses, school staff and civil servants, moved to work-to-rule measures.At the start of October, primary and secondary school teachers in the Republic began work-to-rule action.Previously almost 97% of Fórsa members, who voted in an industrial ballot, did so in favour of action. It is the Republic's biggest public service union.Image source, PA MediaImage caption, Strike action is taking place across the Republic of IrelandBrendan O'Brien divisional organiser of SIPTU, which represents public sector health and administration workers, previously said the "goodwill" of workers was a large part of what kept public services going.However, he said the Irish government's failure to establish a basis for formal talks "left our members with no alternative but to act collectively".On Tuesday Jack Chambers, the Republic's minister for expenditure, described the strike action as "deeply disappointing" saying it would cause significant disruption to the economy, with thousands of hospital appointments set to be cancelled and schools closed.Image source, ReutersImage caption, Public sector workers outside Leinster House in DublinDawn Hutchings-Walsh is a teacher at Hartstown Community School in Dublin, and commutes from County Wicklow every day.Speaking to Irish broadcaster RTÉ she said the "pay just isn't stretching the way that it used to".Her colleague Sinéad McCarthy said she had to take a career break and move to Dubai for a couple of years to save money for a deposit."It's just not feasible in Ireland to be able to save for a house considering the circumstances and the money that we are on here in this country," she said.Linda Kelly is the general secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) said teachers are "really struggling in terms of their pay"."They don't feel like the government is taking them seriously, there's a lot of disappointment with the laissez-faire approach from government over the last couple of months."There's been ample time to solve this issue and the government has sat on its hands and this is the result now," Kelly told RTÉ.Related topicsTrade UnionsPayRepublic of IrelandStrike actionMore on this storyResident doctors take strike action over payPublished29 JuneA very quick guide to strikesPublished19 June 2023