Government to seek extension of public-sector pay deal

With inflation currently running at 5% at least, a review of the public sector pay deal has been triggered by the unions, and a successor deal is eagerly awaited, with unions demanding pay increases to match the rise in everyday costs. Picture shows frontline workers during the Covid crisis.

The Government is to seek an extension of the current public-sector pay deal as opposed to renegotiating a new agreement in full, warning unions that it “can live without a deal”.

Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath, in an interview with the Irish Examiner, has also warned that Ireland is just weeks away from housing thousands of Ukrainian refugees in large tents on State grounds.