The Taoiseach has said the State has a legal obligation to restore wages to higher earning civil servants.
Around 4,000 top civil servants already earning over €150,000 a year are set to see their pay restored to pre-austerity levels.
This is despite pay talks having ground to a halt last week for other public sector workers, after they were offered a 2.5 percent increase over two years.
Some opposition parties have called for the pay rise for top civil servants not to go ahead, instead suggesting the money be put into fuel allowance increases.
But Taoiseach Micheál Martin says they’re legally obligated to restore pay:
