Unions, politicians and employers have disagreed on the priorities for December's Budget in the light of a new study from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).
The study said that the Budget should concentrate more on increasing social welfare payments, even though this would leave less funds available for tax reductions.
IBEC, the employers' body, said it would be wrong to increase social welfare payments equally across the board. "A better approach would be to direct increases towards those who are not in the labour market, such as the elderly," said Mr Brian Geoghegan, a director of IBEC.
He added that increasing social welfare payments might further reduce the incentive to work. "One of the major blockages to Ireland's continued economic growth is that companies continue to face ever increasing difficulties in filling vacancies," he added.
However, the ATGWU, said those "suffering from poverty", the unemployed, pensioners, single parents and the disabled should be recognised in the next Budget.
"The Minister for Finance should abandon plans to squander the Budget surplus on reducing the national debt and invest it in increased social welfare payments, area-based educational initiatives, training and job placement," said Mr Michael O'Reilly, regional secretary of the ATGWU.
The leader of Democratic Left, Mr Proinsias de Rossa, said he strongly supported increases in social welfare rates ahead of the general level of income growth, "rather than simply in line with inflation".
"With the Exchequer literally awash with revenue, this Government has resources that were not available to any previous administration to make real improvements to the living standards of those dependent on social welfare," he stated.
The Labour Party spokesman on finance Mr Derek McDowell said the ESRI view that the Exchequer was now in a position to increase social welfare payments "stands in stark contrast to the nature of economic advice to various Governments down through the years about public spending".
"That the institute has made this call is, I believe, part of a growing corpus of economic thought that public spending, for capital and current purposes, is no longer the pariah that it once was," he said.
Meanwhile SIPTU's chief economist Mr Manus O'Riordan said the December Budget "must take immediate action to recover taxed owed from the past by imposing a withholding tax on the banks until such time as their tax affairs and those of their criminal customers are completely in order," he said.
He added that the December Budget "is the last chance the Government has to set right the damage which it itself inflicted on the whole process in last year's Budget".
The National Youth Council of Ireland said the Budget needed to concentrate "to a greater extent on marginalised groups". It said young people working in low-paid jobs should have their tax burden reduced.
"At the moment a young person working full time in a fast food restaurant can pay as much as £80 per month in tax and PRSI, not to mention half their take home wage on renting somewhere to live," said the council's president, Ms Jilian Hassett. "The forthcoming Budget must address this unacceptable situation; the system is clearly unjust," she added.
