The Minister for Enterprise Micheal Martin today urged both sides in the Irish Ferries row to find a solution as the deadline by which the company had threatened to cut the redundancy package approached.
But the Minister acknowledged the situation, which has seen unions clash with management over plans to replace Irish workers with cheaper foreign staff, was quite bleak.
Talks were ongoing tonight at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) in a bid to reach agreement in the increasingly bitter debate, which has left three ships stranded in ports around the Irish Sea as seafarers prevent them sailing.
Irish Ferries has set a deadline for tonight for the crews to allow the ferries' normal timetable to resume or it will cut 25 per cent of the promised redundancy packages.
The company has also threatened to only run services on one of its vessels, the Jonathan Swift, during the summer months. Mr Martin said: "It's in the interests of all to reach an agreement. The situation is quite bleak."
The dispute began in September when Irish Ferries announced plans to replace 543 Irish workers with cheaper foreign agency staff.
Both sides have been locked in talks with the LRC since last week in attempts to find a solution on a number of controversial issues, including the possible re-flagging of the ferries abroad.
Last Friday tens of thousands of people took to the streets in Dublin and across the country in a show of solidarity with the protesting seafarers. ends