The public sector pay bill should be capped, according to ISME. In its pre-Budget submission, the small business lobby group, also called for larger tax allowances and a childcare subsidy scheme. It cautioned the Minister against allowing any leap-frogging of pay claims following the nurses dispute. It pointed out that since 1987 public sector pay has increased 126 per cent while the cumulative increase in the private sector has been 42.4 per cent.

The group also called for the public sector pay bill to be capped and any increased funding to come from an expenditure quote allocated to each individual Department. It also called for the introduction of a childcare state subsidy scheme for children of four years or under rather than a tax credit which ISME said would not benefit the lower paid.