The Minister for Public Expenditure will not comment on reports that public servants could have to pay more for their pensions in future.

The Public Service Pay commission will report to the government in the new year, before talks on a successor to the Lansdowne Road Agreement get underway in the summer.

Reports in recent days suggested the government is looking at the possibility of getting public sector workers to contribute more to their pensions.

Paschal Donohoe refused to be drawn on the issue this morning: “”The value of those things have now increased.

“There is a differential, I accept that differential has grown and when the public service pay commission produce their impartial analysis, regarding these matters, I will then outline on behalf of Government what our objectives will be.”