Taoiseach says public sector must accept work reforms

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has warned that public sector workers will have to face up to changes in their work practices.

Speaking at an IBEC conference in Dublin today, Mr Ahern said health sector workers in particular would have to get used to working more flexible hours.

He said such flexibility was needed in order to secure a first-class health service.

"We cannot solve the problems in the health service if people want to have the most sophisticated and most costly health service in the world and then only want to work six hours a day, five days a week," he said.