The Taoiseach has raised the prospect of the coalition embarking on a round of forced job losses in the public sector if there is no deal on savings for the public sector pay deal.

But the declaration by Enda Kenny in the Dáil this morning could infuriate unions less than 24 hours after the coalition made a fresh attempt to restart talks under the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).

"In the negotiations on Croke Park II, employment was protected by those negotiations and protected under Croke Park II. It is absolutely true to say that is you have no agreement you don't have that inherent protection, that's fact" Mr. Kenny told the Dáil.

But the General-Secretary of the Association of Secondary Teachers in Ireland (ASTI) says no amount of tweaking or clarification will change teachers positions on the Croke Park II deal.

Pat King was speaking after the government asked the head of the LRC to make contact with unions to see if the deal can be revived.

The Public Expenditure Minister Brendan Howlin briefed the Cabinet yesterday for the first time since unions voted down the Croke Park 2 proposals last week.

Requirement to make €1 billion in savings

The Cabinet reaffirmed that there is a requirement to make €1 billion in savings by 2015 and that €300 million of this must come before the end of this year.

Chief Executive Kieran Mulvey is to make contact with trade unions in the coming days and establish "whether or not there is a basis for a negotiated agreement to meet these budgetary targets" a statement from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform stated.

But Pat King says unions and the government are a million miles apart'' on the issue.

He spoke to Breakfast here on Newstalk.