Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that he accepts there will be a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement, saying that the Government wants a collective response on public sector pay and does not want a sector by sector approach.
Mr Kenny said the ceilings have been set for departmental budgets and there will be no further breaches of the spending limits set for ministers.
He said Minister for Finance Michael Noonan would be very concerned if the Government found itself outside the fiscal rules that they it has signed in Europe.
He said that Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Paschal Donohoe is talking to the trade unions and they needed a collective response to this and he hoped that they could achieve that.
The Taoiseach said everybody understands that a successor to Lansdowne Road is needed.
Asked again if he was ruling out pay talks in February, he added that the Government will have a collective response to this and will engage collectively with unions about that matter.
The Taoiseach ruled out a Cabinet reshuffle.
He said ministers were all working very hard and faced many challenges including Brexit, public pay, the public finances and capital investment.
Mr Kenny said US President-elect Donald Trump told him that he hoped to visit Ireland.
Asked if he would welcome Mr Trump to Ireland, the Taoiseach said he had no indication of the President-elect visiting at any early date.
