Nigel Worthington has been making attempts to persuade the Derry-born player to switch his allegiance back to Northern Ireland and Staunton will hope that his awarding Gibson a first senior capends the controversy.
Although Chancellor George Osborne increased the bank levy in last week's Autumn Statement, the unions say the public sector is bearing the brunt of measures to rebalance the public finances with workers facing a new 1% cap on pay rises after the current two-year pay freeze ends in the Spring.