Conclusion of public sector pay talks 'positive news', Minister says

Vivienne Clarke

Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue has described the conclusion of public service pay talks at the Workplace Relations Commission as “welcome news” following "a lot of work" by the Minister Michael McGrath and the public service unions.

“It is very welcome news that we finally have a proposal this morning,” he told Newstalk Breakfast.

The objective of the Government all along had been to recognise that there was a cost-of-living crisis, but this had to be balanced with what was available in the public finances.

When asked about the fact that details of the agreement were not being given, the Minister said he would not read anything into that.

It was to be expected that the unions would have to speak to their membership before details were revealed. The conclusion of the talks was welcome after weeks of talks, he said.

On the issue of energy costs, Mr McConalogue said that energy security was the top priority for the Government and that rising energy costs would be addressed in the forthcoming Budget.