Construction workers who staged protests in Dublin this week are to return to work on Monday, but more staff have been laid off in Limerick where the industry has effectively been shut down.
Health and safety concerns have been cited by workers in both cities, although the use of sub-contractors is thought to be at the root of the protests.
About 200 bricklayers who marched to the office of the Construction Industry Federation in Dublin agreed, in talks with CIF officials, to return to work on Monday.
The workers had begun their protest, for the second day in succession, at a Collen Construction site on the North Circular Road where 17 picketers were arrested, and subsequently fined by the High Court, on Wednesday.
In a statement, the CIF said talks would start on Tuesday between the federation, Collen Construction and the bricklayers' union, BATU.
However, the general secretary of BATU, Mr Paddy O'Shaughnessy, said the union was not aware of any meeting. He added that BATU had no claim against Collen Construction and so did not have anything to discuss with the company.
In Limerick, one of the few remaining construction sites still operating in the city closed yesterday, and a further 50 construction workers were laid off.
Mr Joe O'Brien, the southern region director of the CIF, said about 1,600 construction workers had now been laid off in the city, where some 300 workers staged a demonstration on Thursday.
Mr O'Brien said there were no moves afoot to resolve the dispute, as BATU had denied any knowledge of it, in an exchange with the CIF through solicitors.
