Garda representative bodies have claimed that Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore was "got at" to toe the Government line on pay cuts planned in the new Croke Park Agreement.
The Association of Garda Sergeants and Inspectors and the Garda Representative Association are protesting outside Leinster House this afternoon.
Unions opposed to the proposals have been hoping that Labour would step in to mitigate the more painful elements of the cuts for Government employees.
However, a spokesperson for the Tánaiste yesterday confirmed that he "fully supports" Minster for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin in implementing the proposed cuts, including the fact that the original agreement will cease immediately if unions reject the latest deal.
AGSI General Secretary John Redmond said the Tánaiste had "changed his tune" and had been "gotten at" by the rest of the Government.
That view was echoed by GRA General Secretary PJ Stone.
Mr Stone said the last time the GRA had protested Mr Gilmore and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton had encouraged it to stick with its protest.
He asked what had happened to Mr Gilmore in the meantime.
Mr Redmond said the AGSI was in no doubt that the original agreement would stay in place until mid-2014 and it was prepared to take a legal challenge to protect its position.
He would not specify how far it was prepared to escalate its current policy of non-cooperation with the use of personal equipment in the course of their duties and refusing to volunteer for overtime.
However, he said members would do whatever was necessary to protect their pay.
Mr Stone said the GRA was trying to keep a lid on the situation, but the members were extremely annoyed.
He said it could not be fair that a senator on over €65,000 would lose €600, while a garda earning around €40,000 could lose €2,500.
AHCPS says new Croke Park deal 'unfair'
The Association of Higher Civil and Public Servants has said proposed cuts for higher-earning public sector workers under the new Croke Park deal are "unfair and disproportionate" and it would be fairer if the Government increased income tax for everyone earning over €65,000.
Speaking on the RTÉ's News at One, AHCPS Assistant General Secretary Ciaran Rohan said everyone should bear the burden and the way to do this was through the taxation system.
His union is recommending a No vote to members as they prepare to ballot on the extension to the Croke Park deal.
Mr Rohan said there were 39,000 civil servants earning over €65,000, whereas there were 270,000 people across the taxation system whose salaries exceeded €65,000.
He said: "What we are saying is everyone has to put their shoulder to the wheel and bear their share. We are prepared to play our part, but we're saying that it's a wider issue than just the public service."
Mr Rohan also said his members believed that this would not be the "last ask" from the Government, despite assurances from Minister Howlin that the extension to the agreement would give protection to public sector pay until 2016.
He said: "The proposals that are there at the moment are unfair and disproportionate. There is a fairer way to address the issues that are there ... It's a burden that everybody would face, public and private alike.
"In terms of raising additional money, we all have to contribute to the economic problems we have at the moment - public and private both alike should contribute to that. What we're saying is raising additional revenue through the taxation system is the fairest way to do that."
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