Next move by ministers will prove crucial

If the Government imposes a second pay cut of up to 7% in the space of three years on public servants, it will likely mean the loss of key public services if teachers, nurses, doctors, and civil servants choose to fight the cuts with industrial action.

Siptu president Jack O’Connor hammered home that point by saying legislation to cut the pay of public service workers “will inevitably precipitate a major confrontation”.

However, it is very possible the Government may choose not to follow the route of direct cuts.