Out-of-hours medical services across the southeast of Ireland will be suspended from this evening as staff begin industrial action during one of the busiest periods for the health service.
The provider, Caredoc, confirmed that its GP services and treatment centres will close from 18:00 on Thursday December 18th until 09:00 on Friday December 19th 2025.
“Caredoc Out-of-Hours GP services and Caredoc Treatment Centres in the following counties will not operate during this time: Carlow, Kilkenny, South Tipperary, Waterford, Wexford and South Wicklow,” they said in a statement.
The disruption arrives at the height of the winter flu season, a period when primary care services typically face a surge in respiratory illnesses and seasonal infections.
The industrial action is the result of a long-running dispute between staff and management regarding pay parity. Members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) have sought the implementation of an 8% pay increase previously agreed under a public service pay deal.
The union has argued that the failure to apply these increases to Section 39 organisations like Caredoc has led to significant recruitment and retention issues, further straining a system already under pressure from seasonal demand.
Further service interruptions have been scheduled throughout the Christmas and New Year period, with specific strikes planned for December 23rd, December 27th, December 29th, December 30th, and January 2nd.
Caredoc apologised for the disruption, which it described as being outside its control.
The provider urged those with emergency medical needs to contact the 999 ambulance service or attend a hospital emergency department. For urgent but non-life-threatening matters, patients are being told to contact their own GP surgery for advice or check the official Caredoc website for further updates.
In a statement yesterday, INMO stated that “The HSE has already provided €647,834 to Caredoc for the purpose of paying this increase to staff the unions are seeking for this to be applied without delay,” adding: “Thus far money paid by the HSE has not been applied to members’ salaries.”
“It is clear that CareDoc have no solution or alternative plan to avert the action,” INMO Industrial Relations Officer Gráinne Walsh said.
“Their hands-off attitude to paying staff what they are owed is now back-firing. It is clear from their public commentary that they seem to be philosophically opposed to using their profits to pay their staff a fair wage.”
She added that while the action “will cause disruption at one of the busiest times for out-of-hours services,” “our members have no desire to withdraw their services in the middle of winter”. However, she said that “all other avenues have been exhausted.”
“We are willing to meet with management and to consider an interim proposal that delivers the funds already provided, along with an agreed mechanism to resolve the outstanding matters. However, Caredoc must demonstrate a genuine willingness to engage.”
Meanwhile, SIPTU Health Division Industrial Organiser Ger McNally said that workers were “left with no alternative but to engage in the proposed industrial action.”
“CareDoc management knows what is needed to resolve this dispute,” he added.
“We call on Caredoc and the HSE to use the remaining time to bring forward proposals that will resolve this dispute.”