The Minister for Science, Technology & Innovation has said the Government is prepared to listen to all of the social partners' suggestions for cutting costs in the public sector.
Speaking to RTÉ News, Conor Lenihan said public spending would have to be cut by €4bn with €1.3bn coming from the public sector.
He said that the Government is prepared to listen to suggestions from the social partners on how to achieve that figure.
Mr Lenihan's comments have been welcomed by IMPACT, the country's main public sector union, although its Deputy General Secretary Shay Cody told RTÉ News that IMPACT was still operating on the basis that the Government is determined to cut public servants pay for the second time this year.
He said that IMPACT has spoken to its members in a bid to identify significant and substantial costs that can be cut out of the system in order to avoid pay cuts.
Mr Cody added that the Government knows that if it sticks to a course of pay cuts, it will be met with very significant and widespread strike action and that it is the job of everyone to avoid that.
