Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

-----or if they have, it has been a rare occasion. No Taoiseach and no Government could commit to a recommendation they have yet to see. The Labour Court does not make its recommendations on the basis of it being mandatory on both sides. That is not the way our industrial relations machinery works.

The Deputy is incorrect to say that the resolution of the Garda dispute did not have a consequence for public sector pay; it did. It required a renegotiation of the existing Lansdowne Road agreement and had a knock-on effect across the public service, which resulted in additional costs for taxpayers of approximately €150 million that year. As the Deputy rightly said, as is the case with any public expenditure, there is an opportunity cost because of that.

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