The Government has welcomed what it described as unprecedented funding proposals for pay increases for health and social care workers in the community and voluntary sector.
Agreement was reached at the Workplace Relations Commission last night following talks between unions and Government representatives.
The proposals will now be considered by unions and their members over the coming days.
The deal includes a 9.25% pay increase for up to 40,000 workers backdated to October 2024 with phased increases in 2025 and 2026.
The workers will now have an automatic link to all future public sector pay agreements to match all future pay increases.
The Government said the proposals deliver on a Programme for Government commitment with an additional investment of around €140 million per year.
The agreement applies to workers in organisations grant funded under Section 39 which relates to healthcare, Section 56 which relates to child and family services, Section 10 which relates to housing, and Section 40 which relates to domestic, sexual and gender-based violence agencies.
The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth has welcomed the proposals.
"I appreciate the goodwill of everyone who sat around the table to reach this agreement for the dedicated workers who provide invaluable supports and services," Norma Foley said.
Speaking as he left the talks last night, Liam Berney, Senior Industrial Officer with ICTU, said members would now be given the opportunity to consider what is being proposed.
"We have a set of proposals that were developed this evening during the course of negotiations today and they will now be considered by unions over the coming days," Mr Berney said.
Last month, healthcare workers in Section 39 organisations, who are members of SIPTU, voted overwhelmingly for strike action as part of the dispute.
The union had warned that it would serve notice of strike action on employers if the talks failed to achieve a resolution.
"Ultimately, our members will decide the next course of action in relation to where we go from here," said SIPTU Sector Organiser Damian Ginley as he arrived at today's talks.
"We will bring the proposals to our members, we will have consultation meetings with them and depending on the feedback, we will make a decision then on what to do in terms of next steps," Mr Ginley said.
Unions had accused the Government of failing to honour a pay agreement struck in October 2023.
That deal pledged to restore a link to pay in the public sector.
