IDA Ireland chief executive, Mr Sean Dorgan has warned that wage drift, gridlock and rising house prices are now seriously undermining Irish competitiveness. But SIPTU general secretary, Mr John McDonnell has accused the IDA of singling out workers unfairly, writes Padraig Yeates, Industry and Employment Correspondent.

Mr Dorgan was speaking at a breakfast briefing of the Cork Chamber of Commerce yesterday. He said there was no problem with workers seeking more money if their productivity or the value of their work had increased. The real problem arose with groups of workers expecting to earn more simply because the economy was buoyant.

He accepted that a major problem had emerged with the rising cost of housing. He said that the State should intervene, if necessary, to ensure more serviced sites were provided for housing at reasonable cost.

Urgent action was also needed to improve the infrastructure, Mr Dorgan said. The National Roads Authority's 20-year plan needed implementation within the next 10 years, at most.

Mr McDonnell said it was unfair to attribute any decline in competitiveness to workers. There was provision under Chapter Nine of Partnership 2000 for workers to seek a share in the increased profitability of companies.

The problem was that not enough employers were prepared to use the provisions of Partnership 2000 to allow employees to participate in profit-sharing and other gainsharing schemes, he said. Such agreements did not undermine competitiveness. Economy and agencies work together to keep jobless figures falling, page 7