Taoiseach: Pay deal is not set in stone

THE national pay deal looked in peril last night as Brian Cowen stressed the agreement was not set in stone.

In his clearest signal yet that a re-negotiation was on the cards, the Taoiseach insisted all Government expenditure had to be re-examined in light of the worsening economic situation.

“I have refused to isolate the pay issue from all other issues,” he warned the Dáil.