Over 300 public health doctors will commence strike action this Monday.
The doctors - who are responsible for managing the control of infectious diseases in the State - will picket the headquarters of each Health Board and the National Disease Surveillance Centre, Dublin.
The strike is being staged in protest at what doctors claim is a failure by the Department of Health to implement an April 2002 report recommending that they be on-call round the clock to deal with threats to public health.
The Irish Medical Organisation, which represents the doctors, claims that the Department of Health is to blame for the strike.
The IMO's Director of Industrial Relations, Mr Fintan Hourihan, said it was "completely regrettable that public health doctors have been forced into this position."
"It is unprecedented that a professional group within the health service is being forced to take industrial action, over issues that were originally agreed upon nine years ago," he added. The IMO claims the Department has refused to abide by these agreements.
However, the Health Service Employers' Agency has slammed the doctors' action, branding it "totally unacceptable".
A HSEA spokesman claimed that, in a "more worrying development", the IMO had refused to attend a requested meeting today to finalise contingency plans for public health during the period of the strike.
"It is incomprehensible that they won't meet on this crucial issue. This is unprecedented in the history of industrial relations in the health service, and we're not happy that existing contingency plans meet the requirements for the public's health," he said.
The IMO has insisted, however, that sufficient contingency plans are in place, and maintain that emergency cover it will be provided in cases where "human life is in danger".
The strike comes after four weeks of work-to-rule on the part of the doctors, who withdrew from national committees and refused to provide cover for colleagues. They have also refused to participate in planning to deal with bio-terrorist threats.
Both sides have attended discussions at the Labour Relations Commission, but attempts to resolve the dispute have proved unsuccessful.
Monday's action was due to go ahead two weeks ago but was delayed in light of the war in Iraq.
Along with the issue of round the clock availability, the April 2002 report, conducted by former Department of Education secretary-general Mr Declan Brennan, also recommended public-health doctors be put at an equivalent pay rate to hospital consultants.
Public health doctors' primary work includes health promotion and the surveillance and control of infectious diseases such as meningitis, winter vomiting bug, SARS and food poisoning.