The Government has made it clear that it wishes to honour the commitments given in the agreement. However, that will only be possible if the agreement is implemented in full. Notwithstanding the progress to date, it is clear that much more needs to be done. There are enormous pressures on us to cut expenditure significantly and to reduce the size of the public service while at the same time making every effort to minimise the negative impact on services.

See this item in context