REACTION:BUSINESS LOBBY group Ibec said the recovery plan must be equitable and support jobs.

“It is increasingly clear that the pension levy will not make the hoped-for substantial contribution to addressing the deteriorating position in the public finances,” commented Ibec’s director general Turlough O’Sullivan.

Ibec highlighted a number of measures it feels are necessary to address the current crisis, including the introduction of means-testing for welfare benefits, the disposal of non-essential State assets and a reduction in the cost and number of Ministers of State and Dáil committees.

The Small Firms Association is “vehemently opposed” to any income tax increases in 2009, or a rise in corporation tax at any time, director Patricia Callan said.

“If additional taxes are necessary in 2009, then this should come from a broadly-based private property tax,” she added.

Ms Callan also called on the Government to urgently cut the public sector pay and pensions bill to reflect the cuts occurring in the private sector.

The Government’s decision to take action by the end of the month to address the crisis in the public finances has been broadly welcomed by lobby groups.

“We agree that urgent action must be taken, not only on tax measures, but also on expenditure cuts,” commented Brian Keegan, spokesman for the Consultative Committee for Accountancy Bodies – Ireland (CCAB-I).

The weakness in income tax receipts shown in yesterday’s exchequer figures is of most immediate concern, he said. However, any programme of raising taxes must be matched by a programme of expenditure reduction, he added

Last Sunday the CCAB-I called for an early budget due to fears that Ireland “could lose all the hard-earned gains and progress of the past decade”.