THE PUBLIC SERVICE SECTOR of North Wicklow and South Dublin shut down for the day yesterday, in line with the rest of the country, as angry workers lifted their placards for a one-day strike.

Union members downed tools for the duration of the day to protest against proposed cuts to their salaries. Strikers said that the Government has so far failed to engage with them on alternatives to pay reductions.

The town's schools were closed, as was the social welfare office, the HSE office, the courthouse, and public libraries.

The ambulance crew members from the Shankill depot were picketing, with a skeleton staff on board one ambulance for the day, workers offering limited emergency cover with no wages. The Shankill station serves south Dublin and north Wicklow.

Similarly, there was a skeleton staff still working for free at St. Columcille's hospital Loughlinstown as their colleagues stood outside in the driving rain.

Employees of semi-state bodies such as the postal service, Irish Rail and Dublin Bus, continued to work.