The cabinet has agreed to a €178 million settlement to end a legal dispute taken by workers at Waterford Crystal.

Ministers agreed to the settlement this morning, after a lengthy legal battle was taken by workers who were laid off when their employer was wound up in 2009.

1,774 workers will benefit from the payments, with €40 million to be committed in lump sums in the forthcoming months.

However the scheme will still have to be approved by the workers themselves.

The workers took the legal action after their employer went bankrupt in 2009 - leaving their pension fund insolvent and only able to cover 28 per cent of their pension.

The case eventually went to the European Court of Justice, which ruled that Ireland had to step in and make sure that workers received at least 49 per cent of their total pensions.

The Tánaiste Joan Burton says the deal will bring comfort to the former workers: