Will Paschal Donohoe’s voice of clarity now fall silent?

Ten years ago, in the teeth of the great financial crisis, the then finance minister Brian Lenihan moved to cut public sector pay. Against the wishes of his then taoiseach Brian Cowen, who cherished the virtues of social partnership and industrial peace, Lenihan implemented cuts to the pay of the 300,000 public servants.

But shortly after the budget in 2009, Lenihan was successfully lobbied by some of his own top officials who cried foul over the the abolition of a bonus scheme which averaged 10% of salary for higher grade civil servants. This included some who earned between €200,000-€300,000 a year.