‘Sacred cow’ issues to feature in talks on Croke Park successor

Flashpoint issues such as increments, overtime, and working hours will feature in tough new negotiations to hammer-out a follow-up to the Croke Park deal, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney has predicted.

Mr Coveney stressed he was happy to let Labour’s Brendan Howlin handle the talks, which begin today, but he said the current deal needs to be improved upon.

As intensive negotiations begin, Fine Gael is making it clear issues that the trade unions regard as “sacred cows” need to be put on the table.