The Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, has issued the formal invitation to public service unions to commence talks on a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement on public sector pay.
This follows Cabinet consideration of the Public Service Pay Commission report on the remuneration of Government employees, which included comparisons with equivalent private sector earnings.
The talks will also address the unwinding of the financial emergency legislation known as FEMPI, which enabled the significant cuts in pay and conditions imposed on public servants during the economic crisis.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform will lead the Government side in the negotiations.
The Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions will head up the union side, though unions that are not members of Congress - including the Garda and Defence Forces Association - will also be invited to attend.
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Mr Donohoe said that in the talks due to get under way later this month they would be seeking agreement on a successor agreement, while securing the productivity gains of the LRA and previous agreements.
He said they would also seek to provide a "fair, balanced and sustainable" response to the pay expectations of public servants in the context of an economy subject to ongoing financial constraints and risks including Brexit.
Mr Donohoe said he expected all parties to engage constructively and realistically during what he anticipated would be a complex and difficult negotiation.
Earlier, health unions warned that the forthcoming negotiations must deliver "special measures" and incentives to address difficulties with staff recruitment and retention in the health services.
