The European Union and European Central Bank are “not without responsibility” for the Irish economic collapse, Congress general secretary David Begg has said.
Speaking at the Public Service Executive Union conference in Galway, Mr Begg said the EU and ECB were not disinterested actors in determining who bears the burden of austerity.
"Be in no doubt that their primary objective is the protection of Europe's banking system," he said.
"I make this point because the people from the EU and the ECB who are dictating the terms of our existence are not without responsibility (for the crisis)."
He pointed to the fact that bondholder exposure to Irish banks had declined while ECB emergency funding had risen dramatically.
"The bond holders are getting out under covering fire provided by the ECB," he said.
Mr Begg said Congress had informed the EU/ECB/IMF troika at a recent meeting that there were limits to the political acceptability of austerity and "these limits are close to being exceeded".
He said it was important that the bailout deal be renegotiated because the State was facing a disorderly default if not.
"Continuing with the fiction that we can stay with the package is the triumph of hope over everything we know from the history of financial crises," he said.
The restoration of the minimum wage to €8.65 was to be welcomed as was the announcement of a jobs initiative, he said.
He urged the Government to focus on the long-term unemployed and reviving domestic demand in the economy.
