Retribution for pair is set in concrete (8)
I believe the answer is:
reprisal
'retribution' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'pair is set in concrete' is the wordplay.
'pair' becomes 'pr'.
'set in' is an insertion indicator.
'concrete' becomes 'real' ('real' can be similar in meaning to 'concrete').
'pr'+'is'='pris'
'pris' placed inside 'real' is 'REPRISAL'.
'for' is the link.
(Other definitions for reprisal that I've seen before include "Act of revenge" , "Retaliatory action against an enemy" , "hitting back" , "Tit for tat" , "compensation" .)