THE MINISTER FOR PUBLIC EXPENDITURE, Brendan Howlin, has said that Croke Park II was a “fair deal” and that the money still had to be found.

Speaking on RTÉ’s Six One News after it had been rejected, Howlin said that “the arithmetic hasn’t changed”, and reiterated that there were no more soft options left.

The minster said that it was inaccurate that the deal had been voted down by “an overwhelming majority”, and said that Ireland remained in an economic crisis.

On the topic of whether government would now legislate, Howlin said that he would be in contact with the Troika tonight, at which point they would ask him “if Ireland is still on track”.

IBEC

The Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) have also said that they are disappointed that Croke Park II has been rejected, saying that they believed that an agreed way forward was preferable to the uncertainty which know faces public sector workers.

The director of industrial relations at in IBEC, Brendan McGinty, said that Ireland continued to “spend €1.3 billion more than we bring in every month.”

“The changes proposed are not easy for public sector workers, but they are necessary,” he said.

The government must now move to ensure that there is no slippage on the established expenditure reduction targets.

Read: Croke Park II rejected as SIPTU, INTO, Unite and IMNO vote No >