LEINSTER HOUSE COULD be closed on Wednesday as public sector workers prepare to take part in a nationwide strike over pay.

The government has proposed dropping Wednesday’s Dáil sitting, with business requiring a vote expected to be brought forward to Tuesday instead.

The Dáil’s Business Committee is due to meet at 2pm today to agree next week’s schedule, including arrangements for votes.

It is understood that only a small number of staff, around six or seven, would be available to work at Leinster House on Wednesday, raising questions about whether the building could open at all.

The Oireachtas Service had sought exemptions, known as derogations, from strike action for key staff to allow the Dáil to operate as normal.

However, unions Fórsa and the Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants (AHCPS) refused requests for derogations covering key Oireachtas staff.

Fórsa represents parliamentary ushers, who are responsible for security, and parliamentary reporters, who produce the written record of proceedings.

The development comes after Taoiseach Micheál Martin declined to say on Friday whether he would cross a picket line outside Leinster House.

Martin argued that there was no need for a picket at the Oireachtas, saying that “parliamentary democracy matters”.

A number of opposition parties had said they would not cross picket lines.

More than 100,000 public sector workers are expected to take part in Wednesday’s strike, which unions have described as the largest of its kind since the financial crisis in 2009.

Schools are set to close, while hospitals have warned of significant disruption to non-urgent services.

The industrial action follows the expiry of the Public Service Agreement in June, with unions and the government yet to agree a replacement pay deal.

A second day of strike action is planned for 21 October.

Additional reporting from Christina Finn and Jane Matthews