The Finance Minister has confirmed public sector workers will get a planned pay rise in October.
Unions have been campaigning for the increase to go ahead despite the predicted €30bn hole in the state's finances due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Under the final stage of the pay deal, around 330,000 public sector workers, including nurses, Gardaí and teachers, along with council staff, are due to get the 2% hike in pay.
Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe says some of these workers have been on the frontline during the current crisis.
He says: "We also do have commitments that we have made to public-sector unions over the last three years.
"And the very workers that we are talking about have been at the frontline in particular in our hospitals and in our Gardaí in dealing with the most difficult consequences of Covid."
Earlier today reports said the Minister for Finance was to propose a solution to Cabinet on changes to the wage subsidy scheme in place during the Covid-19 pandemic.
His proposals aim to close a glaring loophole for women on maternity leave.
At the moment an anomaly in the Covid-19 legislation means women who are returning to work from maternity leave can not be put on the wage subsidy scheme.
