Laying down a marker for 2013

Lucinda Creighton tells political reporter Juno McEnroe that pay arrangements of middle to high-earning public sector workers are one thing she hopes will change this year

EUROPEAN Affairs Minister Lucinda Creighton has called for a freezing of public service increments and warns that workers must be prepared for more stringent conditions and pain — saying some “sacred cows ... can no longer remain sacred cows”.

Ms Creighton also says Cabinet members agree with her that businessman, Denis O’Brien, should not appear in public with government figures, and that Ireland’s presidency of the EU is an opportunity to help rebuild the country’s reputation around the globe.