The Taoiseach has been holding separate meetings with employer and union negotiators as the talks on a new national wage agreement enter their final, critical phase.
It's understood that at those meetings, the Taoiseach stressed the changed global economic circumstances in recent weeks.
Negotiations resumed at 2pm this afternoon after adjourning late last night with all sides reporting progress had been made.
It is understood that the focus of yesterday's talks centred on the consideration of Government proposals on pensions and the 'upskilling' of workers.
Meanwhile, ICTU General Secretary David Begg has said that the climate in which a new agreement is being negotiated is more difficult that it has been for 20 years.
Arriving for the final day of negotiations, Mr Begg said that the talks have taken longer and the negotiators have made less progress at this time then they had in any previous set of discussions.
He said that there were no new proposals on the table in relation to collective bargaining or public service modernisation.
IBEC Director of Industrial Relations Brendan McGinty acknowledged that some progress had been made in recent days but he said there would only be an agreement if it was at the right price and on the right terms that business could support.
He said that considering the turmoil in financial markets over the last 24 hours it was all the more important to exercise control over factors in the domestic economy which we can control.
He also said that anything that militated against competitiveness and the protection of jobs would not attract the support of employers.
Government sources suggested that a significant gap remained between employers and unions on a number of issues, particularly pay.
However, other sources indicated that the gap was not that wide, and that progress had been made in a number of areas.
Talks are expected to continue late into the night.
