Civil servants involved in working on the euro changeover on St Stephen's day and December 27th will be paid £35 (€44.44) an hour on top of normal bank holiday rates under a deal negotiated by IMPACT. There is a ceiling of £420 on the extra payments.

Similar terms have been agreed for civil servants required to work on the euro changeover between 8 p.m. on New Year's Eve and 8 a.m. . on January 2nd.

In contrast, more than 6,000 staff at the Bank of Ireland have been offered increases similar to those secured at other banks.

A tribunal headed by the former chairman of the Labour Court, Ms Evelyn Owens, has awarded £150 a day to all employees of the bank, plus £600 to the 5,000 staff directly involved in the euro changeover. An overtime premium of between 25 per cent and 33 per cent on top of existing rates is also being awarded.

The Irish Bank Officials Association will now ballot members on the terms.

Meanwhile the Labour Relations Commission has proposed a similar package for 400 SIPTU members at the AIB.