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Work-to-Rule across all mental health facilities to recommence from start of shift on Monday, 19th October
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Lack of progress and management silence on urgent post-meeting correspondence leaves union with "no choice"
Thursday 15th October 2026: The Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) has confirmed that its members across Galway Roscommon Mental Health Services will recommence industrial action, initiating a comprehensive Work-to-Rule across all services from the start of shift on Monday, 19th October 2026.
The union had previously agreed to defer serving notice of industrial action following initial engagement at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in late September, providing HSE management to demonstrate tangible progress on an agreed list of workplace, clinical safety, and governance disputes.
However, following a subsequent conciliation hearing at the WRC on Thursday, 8th October in Ballinasloe, and the absolute failure of HSE management to respond to urgent formal correspondence issued in the wake of that meeting, the union confirmed that members have been left with no other choice but to activate their mandate and return to industrial action.
Speaking today, PNA Industrial Relations Officer Niall O’Sullivan stated:
"Our members demonstrated great patience when we agreed to pause our dispute to give WRC conciliation every opportunity to succeed. We attended the conciliation session on the 8th of October seeking concrete, meaningful commitments on the critical issues destabilising our services. Following that engagement, we issued formal correspondence seeking clear assurances on key outstanding disputes, setting a definitive deadline to avert escalation.
"The HSE’s failure to respond to that correspondence or provide the necessary commitments is symptomatic of the ongoing disrespect and lack of meaningful engagement our members have endured for over two years.”
“When management repeatedly fails to engage with established industrial relations processes, ignores third-party agreements, and refuses to adhere even to standard governance and recruitment policies, it demonstrates they are simply not serious about resolving this dispute.”
“Frontline nurses cannot continue to carry the burden of management inaction and broken commitments. We have been left with no other option but to set a date to recommence our industrial action."
The dispute involves a number of critical areas agreed for conciliation across Galway, Roscommon, Ballinasloe, CAMHS, St. Brigid’s, and Mental Health Intellectual Disability (MHID) Services.
Mr. O’Sullivan concluded:
“We paused our action to allow conciliation to work, but management's continued silence and refusal to deliver binding resolutions across these broad disputes have forced frontline psychiatric nurses to engage in this action.
"Unless senior management steps in immediately to deliver genuine, written solutions to these long-standing issues, the PNA will recommence industrial action on Monday morning, with a mandate to escalate further across the region if necessary."
The Work-to-Rule will commence at 08:00 on Monday, 19th October 2026, across all community, acute, and residential mental health facilities throughout Galway and Roscommon.
Media Contact: Derek Cunningham 086-2430535
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