Dáil Éireann has overwhelmingly passed a Bill to give effect to the terms of the Lansdowne Road Agreement. The Bill will go to the Seanad next week.

A Sinn Féin amendment, seeking to block the agreed terms of the Haddington Road and Lansdowne Road agreements regarding the restoration of the third round of cuts for those earning over €65,000, was rejected. The Bill was passed, by a vote of 110 votes to 16, and supported by the four main political parties.

Renua Ireland abstained from the vote, while a number of independent TDs, including Shane Ross, Finian McGrath and members of various left wing groups in the Dáil, voted against.

The Local Government & Local Services and Municipal Employees’ divisions of IMPACT have commenced a ballot for industrial action at Irish Water, following the announcement by the water utility that it will shed 1,500 jobs as part of its business plan published in October.

Only members involved in the direct provision of services to Irish Water, including those who work in non-domestic water billing and water metering, are being balloted. However, IMPACT national secretary Peter Nolan has said that the union will extend the ballot to other workers in the local authority sector if it becomes necessary.

The ballot will close at 12 noon on Friday 11th December, and a Frequently Asked Questions document is available to download here.

The Public Services Committee of the ICTU has approved a measure to resolve an anomaly where increment measures, introduced as part of the Haddington Road Agreement (HRA), could have left some workers disadvantaged compared with those employed after 30th June 2016.