Halonen ends a state visit to Ireland on Wednesday. From there, she was due to fly on to New York. However, the President will now return home to be available to grant approval to the patient safety bill on Friday. The bill was approved in a preliminary vote on Tuesday.
In Dublin, Halonen described the current situation regarding the mass walkout by nurses as "serious". But she noted that the question of salaries for nurses as well as those employed in the social and teaching sectors had been known for a long time.
The President added that future considerations should be taken into account in solving the current acute situation.