The economy's needs would be best met by a new national agreement covering pay, tax reform, the public finances, infrastructure, housing and policies to address social exclusion.
While economic growth remains strong, the Government should aim for substantial budget surpluses. The real rate of growth of current public spending should be reduced. A greater priority in spending should go towards tackling social exclusion.
The priority for Government-funded investment should be the national road and public transport system and a significant increase in the social housing programme.
Further reductions in income tax should be introduced, with top priority given to increasing the standard-rate personal allowances to benefit the lower-paid. The number of people paying tax at the higher rate should also be cut by widening the standard-rate income-tax band.
More user charges should be introduced to reflect the cost of environmental services such as water and waste disposal.
Any increases in local taxes should be offset by reductions in personal income tax.
Stronger measures are needed to tackle tax evasion, whether in terms of more effective implementation of existing legislation or through new legislation.
The social partners should have a formal role in developing an employment action plan, looking at all aspects of the jobs market and training. This is part of an EU drive to develop more flexible and effective jobs markets.
A new framework is needed for "lifelong learning". This would involve early childhood education, tackling high dropout rates in the second-level and third-level sectors, greater availability of vocational training, measures to increase literacy in the adult population and more in-company training.
A new childcare package including a significant increase in child benefit payments. Taxing child benefit would focus the benefits of higher payments on the less-well-off.
New measures are needed to improve the performance of the services sectors. The key focus of tourism policy should be on skills development and marketing Ireland overseas.
Industrial support should move away from supporting capacity expansion and towards building capacity in terms of employee skills, management, research, innovation and technological development.
New food industry strategy to redirect exports to the EU consumer market.
Greater focus on attracting industry and developing infrastructure in the less-developed regions of the State.
A new benchmark should be set for social welfare payments and the indexing of payments to keep them in step with the general standard of living.
New strategies to tackle unemployment, focusing on evaluation programmes, easing the transition from unemployment and preventing people from becoming jobless.
Major investment in infrastructure under new national development plan should be in the context of new spatial strategy looking at how regions should be developed.