Taoiseach says public sector pay offer is not small but must be sustainable

The Taoiseach has said the public‑sector pay package on the table “is not a small offer” and urged that the planned strike for next week be avoided.

Speaking in the Dáil, Taoiseach Micheál Martin warned any pay rises must be sustainable, adding the government will continue “engage in the talks in good faith with the trade unions”. He said there was “no need for a strike next week” and that “with the will, there is a way to resolving this”.

Unions and officials from the Department of Public Expenditure met with a Government‑appointed group led by Workplace Relations Commission chair Kevin Foley on Tuesday, concluding talks at about 5.30 pm. The group will meet again on Wednesday, with both sides asked to consider the issues further.

The Government’s current offer is a 6.75 % pay rise back‑dated to July 2026, lasting until November 2028, plus an additional 1 % for local bargaining, totalling a 7.75 % increase. Unions, after a meeting of the ICTU public service committee on Monday, are planning another day of strike action on Thursday, 12 November, the same day as the European Political Community summit in Dublin.

Opposition parties criticised the government’s progress. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald accused the government of “lack of respect” and highlighted a €95,000 pay rise for the DAA chief executive as evidence of unfairness. Social Democrats TD Cian O’Callaghan called the handling of the talks “an unmitigated disaster”.

The Taoiseach reiterated the coalition’s commitment to a fair, sustainable pay agreement and to its role as a good employer.

Source: Irish Examiner. Photo: Joaquin Carfagna / Pexels.