There is a “good possibility” of striking a new pay deal with public sector workers, Tánaiste Leo Varakdar has told Fine Gael TDs and Senators.
Talks on a new deal broke down last week after unions rejected a Government pay offer of a 5 per cent increase over two years.
Earlier this week Mr Varadkar suggested a “landing zone” for a deal could involve a higher percentage pay rise for lower-paid workers, tax reform to benefit middle-income earners, and “social wage” commitments.
Mr Varadkar told his party that public servants deserve a pay increase.
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He said history has shown such discussions have setbacks and can take time but he is keen to come to an agreement with the unions to get through the high inflation period.
Fine Gael is holding a special parliamentary party meeting next week to discuss the upcoming budget but there were contributions on the cost of living at Wednesday’s gathering.
Dún Laoghaire TD Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Senator Mary Seery-Kearney are both understood to have raised the need to provide extra support to both parents and childcare providers. A childcare package is expected in the budget.
Contributors to the meeting praised Mr Varadkar’s recent comments on the need to provide tax relief to middle-income earners.
Will the Government take any pre-budget action?
Mr Varadkar told the meeting that with the budget on the horizon tax receipts are “very robust” and more than 2.5 million people are employed and this number is growing countrywide.
He said the Government is “in a position to make changes to assist people to access services and ensure work pays better”.
The party passed a motion calling on Fianna Fáil Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to address issues at University Hospital Limerick, including plans for the provision of an elective-only hospital for the mideast region.
It comes after the Health Information and Quality Authority last week raised serious concerns about patient safety at the hospital.
The motion was brought by Clare TD Joe Carey who also called for Mr Donnelly to be invited to a future Fine Gael meeting to face questions on the matter.
There was no decision taken on that.
Minister of State for Sport Jack Chambers told Fianna Fáil TDs and Senators at the parliamentary party that there would be a half-day meeting on Friday, July 1st, to discuss their budget priorities and the response to cost-of-living challenges.
The parliamentary party meeting heard a presentation from Senator Shane Cassells on the Fianna Fáil’s communications strategy. He chairs a party committee on the issue set up to respond to deficiencies in the area, including its social media operations, identified by Minister of State Seán Fleming’s postmortem of Fianna Fáil’s poor performance in the 2020 general election.
