Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said he was pessimistic about a successful breakthrough in the talks on a new national pay deal.
"I do not see two sides engaged to find a resolution right now. Everyone will be aware that finding a resolution in these negotiations requires people to work hard, which they are, but also to reach the necessary compromises to bring the process to an acceptable solution for all sides and not just one side," Mr Ahern said.
"That position does not exist today. I hope it will and I hope all sides will try to find a way of dealing with the issues, which I have outlined. The circumstances do not exist right now." Mr Ahern said the biggest issue concerned pay. "It would be wrong for me to breach the confidentiality of the talks, but the lines between the positions of employers and unions are not meeting and, at present, they do not appear likely to meet."
Joe Higgins (Socialist Party, Dublin West) claimed that, for 19 years, the so-called social partnership "has allowed profits, speculation and rents to rise relentlessly and without restraints, while workers' wages in no way matched them".
Mr Ahern said it was not the case that employees had done badly. "Successive partnership agreements by successive governments have shown that increases in workers' salaries and wages have far outstripped both inflation and increases in similar countries." Social partnership had also allowed companies to grow and expand, thereby creating an additional one million jobs in the economy.
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte suggested that the fact that Department of the Taoiseach secretary general Dermot McCarthy was chairing the talks, was a bad omen. If there was the prospect of success, the Taoiseach would be in the middle of it working all night to bring the parties together.
Mr Ahern said that the secretary general had always chaired the talks.
"Whether as minister for labour, minister for finance or Taoiseach, I have had a close involvement in the talks, as I have had this time." Asked how long the talks would take, Mr Ahern said that "sides have exhausted each other, including the Government". But they could not force the sides to settle or to agree, he added.
"There is a basis for settling but both the Ictu and, particularly, the employers - I do not exclude all the other social partners - must make the necessary effort to reach agreement."
Mr Ahern said that those involved had certainly put in the time and the commitment. "Perhaps that will change in the days ahead, but I do not see it at the moment."
Replying to questions from Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny and Sinn Féin's CaoimhghíÓ Caoláin, the Taoiseach said work on employment contracts was 90 per cent completed. "If people are reasonable on the other issues, we can reach agreement."
