It isn’t often you hear the head of the Catholic Church put dialogue before dogma but, then Pope Francis is no ordinary pontiff.

Irate nurses have threatened to walk off wards and head “straight to the gate” if the Government imposes further pay cuts.

The association which represents the country’s rank-and-file gardaí has warned the Government that if it carries out its threat to cut its members’ wages it will retaliate by pursuing breaches of the EU working time directive in the courts.