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

The Deputy must be aware at this stage that back in 2013 Ministers in the then Government decided that they would not accept any pay restoration and have not done so. I am not sure that is true of Sinn Féin TDs by the way.

There is a way by which Government intervenes to resolve industrial relations disputes. It is done through the Workplace Relations Commission and if that fails, it is done through the Labour Court. Those talks are ongoing at the moment and the Government representatives are there and deeply engaged.

It is easy for Deputy McDonald to be populist-----

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