Social partnership can no longer be limited to the Government, employers, farmers and trade unions, according to the National Economic and Social Forum. In a report on the future of national agreements, it says a larger role must go to the voluntary and community sectors.
It also warns that an ad-hoc strategy in developing social partnership is causing overlaps and duplication in the functions of various agencies. Mechanisms must be put in place to ensure Partnership 2000 and subsequent programmes are developed coherently, particularly at local level.
An initial move towards modernising social partnership, the report says, would be to widen membership of the National Economic and Social Council, which seeks to reach consensus on social and economic policy, to "reflect more fully the range of organisations in the community and voluntary sector".
It proposes closer links between the NESC and the forum, and more professional back-up from civil servants for both bodies.
The report has been welcomed by the Government. Yesterday the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said the NESC and the NESF would be placed on a statutory basis and their remits amended to facilitate better co-operation and sharing of support services.
The NESC will continue to concentrate on strategic analysis and the development of frameworks for national agreements. The NESF will focus on monitoring initiatives undertaken by the social partners, especially with regard to social exclusion and unemployment.
The report is highly critical of the existing social partnership which it says is based on "power-bargaining with limited need for discussion". Under a new model, it says, the social partners with the most influence would be those which bring information and perspectives to the negotiating table and would develop "new forms of public advocacy that lead to dialogue and shared understanding of problems".
Structures should be decentralised so that decisions are implemented as near the problem as possible. The present centralised, hierarchical structures can no longer deliver change. The Government must develop more sophisticated ways of reaching decisions and the social partners should play a greater role in their implementation.
The NESF says it and the NESC should be involved in the strategic management initiative, which is aimed at systematic reform of the public service and the National Anti-Poverty Strategy, a measure to "poverty-audit" new legislation and government policy initiatives.
Until now involvement of marginalised groups has rested largely on a moral claim to recognition, but the chairwoman of the NESF, Ms Maureen Gaffney, says tackling social exclusion is as critical to underpinning the long-term competitiveness of Ireland as resolving macro-economic issues.
The nature of the traditional social partners is also changing, says the report. Bodies like the Ir ish Farmers Association, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and the Irish Business and Employers Confederation can no longer rely on automatic membership.
The report also calls for the development of teams to examine particular issues or problems. Membership of these should be based on expertise rather than ensuring formal representation of all social partners. "Teams made up only of those with something real to contribute would avoid the kind of lowest-common-denominator report writing which is a constant danger," it says.