Deal hinges on decisive Government intervention

THEY say patience is a virtue found rarely in a woman and never in a man, but this week the Government’s Dermot McCarthy is c bucking that trend.

For the last five days, the Secretary General has presided over the debate on a national wage agreement with the same patience he displayed during the first round of talks which failed at the end of July.

However, even Mr McCarthy’s patience must now be wearing thin because coming into the weekend the two sides, outwardly at least, seemed to have moved not one iota closer to compromise. Unions and employers remained diametrically opposed on collective bargaining legislation.