Green Party ministers are to raise controversial pay rises with their Government colleagues at tomorrow's Cabinet meeting, it emerged tonight.
The Taoiseach received a salary increase of €38,000 a year which brings his annual salary to €310,000 euro while each senior minister got €25,000 extra.
The Review Body on Higher Remuneration in the Public Sector handed out the wage rises to €1,600 senior state employees on October 25th. The average increase is 7.3 per cent and the total cost to the taxpayer is around €16 million a year.
Responding to Opposition and public unease on the issue, Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said tonight: "There was talk about it in the papers yesterday and I would certainly be quite happy to talk to my colleagues about what the public reaction has been.
"I look forward to talking to them about it tomorrow." Included in the pay rises are politicians, the judiciary, top gardai and heads of Government departments and state agencies.
But Taoiseach Bertie Ahern tonight appeared to rule out any reversal of the pay rises.
He said: "I think for the future it should be on a three-year period, but governments can defer these things for a period and then, as they have previously done, go back and pay it all again.
"But that is really only playing smoke and daggers with it. "The fact is this will ultimately be paid and it is better for the Government to be upfront about it."