There are signs tonight of serious divisions between the two unions involved in the Irish Ferries dispute - SIPTU and the Seamen's Union of Ireland.
One of the main causes is a management threat to cut the redundancy payments on offer if staff don't sail ferries which are due to leave port in a few hours time.
With that deadline drawing nearer, and increased tensions on the union side, talks on resolving the differences at the Labour Relations Commission are said to be developing at a critical and delicate stage.
The Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment, Micheál Martin, today appealed to both sides in the dispute to achieve agreement.
Mr Martin said it was in the interest of both sides to reach agreement.
Earlier, he paid tribute to the Labour Relations Commission for the outstanding work it has been doing since last week to see if it could bridge the gap between both sides.
Mr Martin said he thought it was very important that a solution be arrived at in the context of the labour relations machinery of the State.
Minister Martin said he was satisfied that there was engagement on all sides in looking for a solution to the issue.
He said the feedback he received prior to last weekend was that there was significant engagement by the company in the talks process, but he said that today he would love to see the work of the LRC bearing fruit.
The company has given staff until tonight to resume sailing its vessels or face a 25% cut in their redundancy package.
That could mean the loss of up to €50,000 for some workers with long service.
One source said that, in light of this latest deadline, there is now a sharp sense of reality about the seriousness of the dispute.
Irish Ferries, which has already lost over €5.5m as a result of the dispute, has also threatened to abandon winter services on the Jonathan Swift which would result in immediate layoffs.
It is understood that LRC officers are teasing out around nine major issues in separate meetings between management and unions to try to find some common ground that could lead to a settlement.
Among the key sticking points are the re-flagging of Irish Ferries vessels abroad, new staffing ratios which would reduce time off and deductions from the minimum wage for accommodation and other expenses for replacement crews from Eastern Europe.
