The Tánaiste says he understands the optics of giving pay rises to high-earning public service workers 'might not be good'.
Medical consultants, judges and senior civil servants earning over €150,000 will have their salaries restored to pre-austerity levels from next week.
The moved has been criticised by opposition members, with People Before Profit calling it 'an insult to ordinary people'.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar says 90% of those getting the pay rise are medical consultants:
"I understand why the optics of it might not be good, but I think when people understand the facts, they'll understand why it's being done. You can turn around to an emergency medicine doctor, or a brain surgeon, or a scoliosis surgeon, or a child psychiatrist and say, 'Well, we reversed everyone else's pay cut, but we're not doing it for you."
