The Irish Nurses' Organisation dispute in three Mid-Western hospitals looks set to escalate.
The action, over on-call and per case shift premiums, involves more than 70 nurses at Nenagh, Ennis and Limerick Regional Hospitals.
It has already led to the cancellation of several procedures as nurses engage in a work-to-rule.
Despite three days of talks between the INO and the Mid-Western Health Board, the row over payment rates continues and an escalation next week could see all surgery at the hospitals cancelled.