Dáil cancels Wednesday sitting due to planned public sector strike

The Irish parliament is expected to cancel its scheduled sitting on Wednesday because of a planned nationwide public sector strike. The Irish Examiner and thejournal.ie both reported that a revised schedule proposes moving parliamentary business requiring votes to Tuesday, leaving the Dáil to sit only on Tuesday and Thursday next week. [1][2]

The Irish Examiner and thejournal.ie reported that the Dáil's Business Committee scheduled a meeting for 2pm on Saturday to agree on the schedule. According to the Irish Examiner, the cancellation follows the refusal of unions to grant Leinster House staff an exemption from the strike. Thejournal.ie reported that only six or seven staff members would be available to work at the parliament building on Wednesday. [1][2]

More than 100,000 workers are set to strike over pay on Wednesday, according to thejournal.ie. As FTMQ News reported earlier, nurses and midwives held lunchtime protests across Ireland as part of the broader dispute involving more than 100,000 public sector workers. Thejournal.ie reported that Taoiseach Micheál Martin declined to say if he would pass a picket line, stating that a strike at Leinster House does not need to happen. The Irish Times reported that opposition parties stated they will not cross picket lines if staff strike. [2][3][4][11]

Leinster House is the seat of the Oireachtas, the parliament of Ireland. The building was originally the ducal palace of the Dukes of Leinster before it was acquired by the Irish Free State government in 1924 to serve as the permanent parliamentary home. [6][8]