Unions will meet on Friday to consider an invitation from the Government to enter talks on a new public sector pay deal.
Officers of the Public Service Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) met this morning to consider the invitation.
The PSC said that in advance of responding, it will convene the 19 affiliate unions on Friday to review developments since its approach to negotiations was established in September.
It will also decide the criteria to establish if there is a basis for a new public service pay agreement with the Government.
If the invitation to talks is accepted, the negotiations are expected to take place under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).
The current public sector pay deal, Building Momentum, is due to expire at the end of the year.
In recent weeks, the Fórsa and SIPTU trade unions had threatened industrial action if the Government failed to engage on a successor agreement.
Unions have said that a new deal will need to secure pay measures in response to continuing cost-of-living pressures.
They are also seeking the normalisation of "post-crisis" public service industrial relations with access to the WRC and the Labour Court, and the final dismantling of remaining emergency legislation.
Staff associations will also be involved in the pay talks.
Antoinette Cunningham, General Secretary of the Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors (AGSI), said it was important any new agreement is negotiated before the end of the year when the current deal expires.
"Cooperation with the Garda Reform Agenda is only agreed until then," Ms Cunningham posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Issuing the invitation to talks yesterday, Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe said the discussions will be challenging but that he believes that there is scope for all parties to engage constructively towards an agreement.
