Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Lansdowne Road agreement was a central part of the programme for Government and the confidence and supply agreement. Last evening, the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Leo Varadkar, made the comment that the context had changed. I understand the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform is to meet the unions, and the Government has assessed the matter this morning. In negotiating the confidence and supply agreement, Fine Gael was adamant that the Lansdowne Road agreement would be central to public pay policy and that if there were to be any confidence and supply agreement, our party would need to sign up to it. Other political parties signed up to it subsequently. From what I am hearing from Ministers, it seems there is a change and that the Government is changing tack in regard to the Lansdowne Road agreement given what happened over the past week or so. That the Minister for Social Protection, Deputy Varadkar, said the Government would have to examine what changes could be made to the agreement and that the context had changed indicates the Government is changing course regarding the Lansdowne Road agreement. The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform made comments last week on bringing forward the scheduling. Where stands the Lansdowne Road agreement now?

See this speech in context