Cuts of more than €1bn in the public service pay bill have been announced by the Minister for Finance.
There will also be savings of €760m from social welfare and €980m from day-to-day spending.
There will be pay cuts across the public sector from 1 January, starting at 5% on the first €30,000 of salary. There will be cuts of 7.5% on the next €40,000 and 10% on the next €55,000 after that.
Public servants earning between €125,000 and €165,000 will have pay cuts of 8%.
Cuts will be 12% on salaries of between €165,000 up to €200,000, and 15% for those above €200,000. The Taoiseach's salary will drop by 20%. President McAleese also said later that she had told the Government she intended to surrender 20 % of her salary for 2010 in light of the current budgetary situation.
Read more details of the effects of the pay cuts here
Mr Lenihan said there would be no increases in judges' pay in the lifetime of this Government, though the Constitution rules out a cut in their pay.
Minister Lenihan has also announced plans for a new public service pension scheme for new entrants.
Legislation will be introduced in 2010 and the scheme will be in place by the end of that year.
The new scheme will be based on a public servant's average and not final salary. The Minister is also to review the current system with a view to linking pensions to the cost of living.
Pay cuts announced today will not affect existing pensioners.
