Negotiations between trade unions and the Government on public sector pay broke down last night at the Workplace Relations Commission. The meeting continued until 3am with no resolution.
Trade union's are seeking pay hikes in the region of 7 per cent as the cost of living soars.
Union sources say the discussions continued until the early hours of this morning at the Workplace Relations Commission, however they say there's a significant gap between both sides.
Unions had been expected to press for pay rises to compensate for the spiralling cost of living.
The WRC has urged both sides to reflect and consider fresh negotiations.
No deal could lead to the threat of industrial action and Newstalk's Business journalist Gavin McLoughlin says the government does not want that.
"From the Government's point of view they are keen to avoid a large increase, not only because of the pressure it would put on the public purse, but also because if there are broad wage increases, it risks making inflation worse."
He suspects it will be very difficult for the Government to come to an agreement, but they do not want industrial action either.
It comes as demonstrations organised by the Cost of Living Coalition are planned for Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Sligo.
Addressing an event in Dublin to promote the weekend protests, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald criticised the Government for failing to commit to further support measures before October’s Budget.
“The idea that the Government would simply sit on their hands and ask people to wait until October is just unacceptable,” she said.
“So, Saturday is a moment of opportunity for people to come out to have their voices heard to make it very, very clear to this out-of-touch Government that we need action now.
“If they wait until October, arguably a lot of the measures, whatever they might be, won’t take effect until the new year.
The Government has so far resisted calls for a so-called “mini budget” ahead of the autumn to roll out further measures for families.
However, it has denied allegations that it has been slow to act on the issue, highlighting that the steps it has taken to tackle cost-of-living pressures since last October add up to €2.5 billion.
