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ANALYSIS:THE GOVERNMENT’S initiative to invite the trade unions to new talks on a national agreement on economic recovery has averted a damaging wave of strikes which were scheduled for next Monday. However, the move does not mean that securing a deal between the social partners will be easy or even achievable, writes MARTIN WALL

Yesterday David Begg, the general secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), said that if the 10-point plan for economic recovery drawn up by the unions was central to the forthcoming discussions then there was a reasonable chance of progress. However, while both the Government and employers’ group Ibec have acknowledged that there were some merits to this document, it very much remains to be seen how much of its content they would be prepared to accept when the negotiations get under way.