The Dáil committee on water charges has hit difficulties after just one meeting, after opposition TDs claimed they were blocked from questioning the author of a Government-commissioned report on the issue.

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Homes with normal levels of water usage should not be charged and special tariffs should only be applied to households using wasteful amounts, the long-awaited expert water commission reports says.

Homeowners and renters face a system of water charges but only after a free allowance is used up, the Irish Examiner understands.

Public service trade unions have given unequivocal support to Public Service Pay Commission (PSPC) chairman Kevin Duffy after his position was called into question by Garda representative bodies.

Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe has insisted Kevin Duffy remains the right man to head up the commission tasked with advising the Government on pay in the public sector.

Two Garda unions have strongly criticised comments from the Chairman of the Public Sector Pay Commission, Kevin Duffy, over the recent Garda industrial dispute.

The work of the Public Service Pay Commission will not be brought forward, despite growing calls for a new public sector deal early in the new year.

Government and opposition TDs will not be bound by a soon-to-be-released special commission report on the future of water charges, said Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar.

The Government have insisted that a new pay commission will not take the place of direct negotiations with trade unions but will instead lay groundwork for the next pay deal with workers.

The first steps towards the setting up of the promised Public Service Pay Commission will be discussed at Cabinet today. 

Irish Water customers who are owed rebates for using less than their quota of water, or for having undrinkable supplies, can still claim their money back.

Former chairman of the Labour Court Kevin Duffy has been appointed as the new chairman of the expert water charges commission.

The Government has assigned two experts to look at legal protection for workers, in a bid to stop what happened to the Clery's workers from happening again.

Clonfert has become the first West of Ireland diocese to “import” priests from Nigeria to take up ministry.

A Polish receptionist who was awarded €63,000 for discrimination and victimisation by the Equality Tribunal has had the award quashed by the Labour Court — because it was made against the wrong employer.

The rules of engagement between employee and employer are undergoing major overhaul. A system that is no longer useful is being transformed. As a result, disputes between workers and their bosses should be resolved much more rapidly.

An increasing number of companies funded by public money are refusing to attend hearings of the industrial relations machinery of the State and/or refusing to be bound by their recommendations.

Aer Lingus and its unions have been told to "urgently" review industrial relations at the airline to prevent future strikes similar to those which saw 30,000 passengers grounded at the end of last month.and could have seen 70,000 more affected next week.

Talks in the Aer Lingus rostering dispute will resume in the Labour Court tomorrow.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has just overseen the publication by his department of an in-depth report on apprenticeships in Ireland.

Apprenticeships could be set up for entry to a range of additional jobs if the proposals of a major review group are adopted.

The former County Cork VEC has lost an employment case related to its controversial decision to open a creche which is the subject of a departmental probe.

The €370m further education and training sector could face a major change in focus as a review examines how well it is addressing the needs of the unemployed.

Up to 300,000 public servants are to see both their certified and uncertified sick leave entitlement halved thanks to a binding recommendation from the Labour Court.

Former Vita Cortex workers have urged company boss Jack Ronan to accept new recommendations to end their four-month sit-in and let them “go home to their families”.

Attempts to mediate a dispute in the redundancy row at the Vita Cortex plant in Cork have failed, it was announced this afternoon.

IN A parliamentary address yesterday on the riots in England this week, British Prime Minister David Cameron made a statement that caught a lot of people’s attention on Twitter: “When people are using social media for violence we need to stop them.”

Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation Richard Bruton is to meet with the Restaurants Association of Ireland today to discuss JLC wage-setting agreements.

The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin says the Government has not reached any firm decisions on changes to Sunday pay and overtime rates for thousands of workers.

EMPLOYERS concerned about wage costs for overtime and Sunday work were told that special hourly rates should remain after a report stopped short of recommending immediate pay changes.

A PROPOSED overhaul of premium pay for weekend and overtime workers in the catering and retail sectors is set to lead to clashes among the Coalition partners.

The Government has announced the establishment of an independent review of statutory wage setting mechanisms known as Employment Regulation Orders (ERO) and Registered Employment Agreements (REA).