Adams: SF will resist cuts in public sector jobs

Opposition party Sinn Féin says they'll do their upmost to stand up the Government on the possibility of thousands more redundancies in the public sector.

Fianna Fáil too is hitting out at reports that the Government is planning to cut a further 4,000 public-sector jobs by the end of the year.

It is understood that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has written to all Government departments asking them to bring forward plans to cut staff numbers through voluntary redundancy.

The Government had set a target of reducing numbers in the public service to 282,500 by 2015, but now wants to move that deadline to 2014.

Sinn Féin Leader Gerry Adams told 98FM News that his party will scrutinise the Government's plans to make sure they don't result in a cutback in services.

"If you look across schools that can't function properly because they don't have teachers, if you look at the special needs assistants that are being cut, if you look at the frontline services, and out health services particular, we do need to reform our public services," he said.

"But start at the top, start at the high earners,

"The Government's regularly in breach of its own ceiling, the Government has out a cap in but it's regularly in breach of that. Everything has social consequences."