The 290,000 public sector workers are likely to receive pay increases of at least 2pc in the near future.
And this is only the first round in a planned range of increases for public employees, according to Cabinet sources.
It is widely expected that the pay rises will be sanctioned before the Dail breaks for the summer in July.
One senior minister said: “The pay rises will be brought in before the Budget and before the Dail summer break. My expectation would be between 2pc and 3pc.”
The pay rises are likely to fuel claims that the Government is making efforts to buy votes ahead of the General Election.