THE pursuit of profit and the raising of living standards are mutually dependent, the outgoing president of IBEC, Mr Tony O'Brien, told the annual dinner of the confederation in Dublin last night. Labour and capital shared an interest in maximising growth for the benefit of all the nation's children, he said.

Mr O'Brien repeated, however, that the Government must continue to rein in public spending and reduce its debt a policy that was economically and morally correct.

Radical changes had taken place in the social and economic fabric of Irish society in recent years and, as the representative voice of Irish business, it is our right and duty" to influence public policy in addressing these issues, he said.

Because of the scale and scope of our membership, embracing as 1,1 does, every type and style of enterprise, our policy positions must reflect an overall rather than a narrow perspective," he said.

"Precisely because we are the voice of business in this State we do not have the luxury of singling out narrow interests at the expense of the business community as a whole. IBEC must go through the rigorous process of determining the common good for Irish business not the interests of one narrow group. This is hard work but, when we do it thoroughly, we make a significant impact," he said.

Improving standards of education, demand for greater participation in actions which affect people as employees and citizens the rapidly developing role of women in every aspect of life and the problems of long term unemployment and social exclusion were all examples of interdependence in Irish society, he said.

The fact that the business environment was increasingly open and global had to be taken into account as well, because it simultaneously presented great opportunities and serious threats.

"All of this points up the need for an increasing leadership role for the business community, based on our firm conviction that a healthy business sector is an essential element in raising living standards."

Mr O'Brien said that there was no ideological battle between the interests of capital and labour. The people have moved on. So has IBEC".

"Let us be practical, let us list the things which all of us as individuals want. We want our children to move into a society in which they will have self respect, a place, a job. We want health services and education services which allow them such self respect. We want them to be able to stand on their own two feet and have the freedom to live their lives to the full, to flourish. We want this for all Ireland's children."