Government has 'come some distance' as Taoiseach calls for resolution to pay talks

Micheál Martin, who described the talks so far as 'constructive', said every effort needed to be made to bridge a gap that has emerged in negotiations

Micheál Martin said the Government side had 'come some distance'. File picture: Brian Lougheed

Micheál Martin has urged unions to get back to talks about pay after discussions with the Government ended overnight without agreement.

The Taoiseach, who described the talks so far as "constructive", said every effort needed to be made to bridge a gap that has emerged in negotiations.

"I would hope that in the coming while the talks could resume and that we could get a resolution,” he said.

"First of all, the talks have taken place in a very constructive spirit — the pay issue is important.

"We understand that and that is why Public Expenditure Minister Michael McGrath engaged with the public service unions in respect of their needs and demands for pay rises."

Mr Martin said the Government side had "come some distance".

"There is a gap there and we have to take broader issues into consideration in terms of the needs — we have a cost of living package in terms of expenditure [in the budget]."

He also said issues like childcare were impacting the costs facing a lot of workers but he said the Government wanted to have the resources to “do something meaningful with childcare in the budget”.

He added: “We want resources to do something meaningful in terms of healthcare costs.

"Other costs as well such as social protection, protecting those on lower incomes from the impact of this terrible inflationary cycle brought on by the war in Ukraine.

"We are looking at a broader agenda but pay is a key part of that agenda.

"Therefore we would like to see a resolution and a conclusion being brought to these talks by agreement."

Discussions on pay had continued until about 3am on Friday morning at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

The WRC has since urged both sides to reflect and consider fresh negotiations over union demands for pay rises of up to about 6.75% to compensate for the spiralling cost of living.

Kevin Callinan, president of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said while some progress had been made, the terms on offer from the Government were not something unions felt they could recommend to their members.

Earlier this week, Mr Callinan had warned the talks would fail if the Government did not address the gap between pay and current living costs.

Mr Martin was speaking at the formal announcement by Irish healthcare communications consultancy and outsourcing organisation RelateCare of 280 new jobs in its new facility in Tralee.