Air traffic controllers are to meet today to consider a Labour Court recommendation aimed at ending a dispute that had threatened to close the State's main airports.
The controllers, who work a 24-hour roster, are in dispute over what they say are excessive levels of overtime required to run the service safely.
They withdrew from a voluntary overtime scheme last month, leading to flight disruption, and threatened an overtime ban from today and a 24-hour stoppage next Thursday.
The Labour Court has recommended that an interim overtime system should be put in place for air traffic controllers for the next 18 months until additional newly recruited staff become fully operational.
Under the proposals, air traffic controllers would receive an allowance of €4,000 a year for making themselves available to do overtime on a voluntary basis.
Labour Court chairman Kevin Duffy recommended that participating air traffic controllers should make themselves available to be called in on overtime on 12 days per year but that they would not actually be called into work more than eight times.
He also proposed that an overtime rate of double time should apply and that staff should be paid for a minimum of five hours at overtime rates if they were called in to work.
Impact said last night there were "some positive elements" in the recommendation. The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said the recommendation was complex and was being considered.
Following the issuing of the Labour Court's recommendation last night, Impact members are to meet in Dublin, Shannon and Cork.