A NEW social partnership to follow the Programme for Competitiveness and Work (PCW) was proposed by the Taoiseach. "As partnership has served the country so well, I think that it would be unwise for government, employers, farmers and trade union members to abandon it lightly to return to local bargaining," Mr Bruton said.

"However, the Government will be concerned to ensure that the terms of any new national programme will meet the economy's need for competitiveness and continued fiscal responsibility in the interests of tackling unemployment, and meeting the EMU criteria.

Mr Bruton said that taxation changes, including increased allowances and widened bands and other improvements such as increases in children's allowance over the last three Budgets, had combined to increase net real pay.

Between 1993 and last year, net real pay for a married single earner household with two children on the average manufacturing wage had increased by 5.4 per cent. For a similar family on three quarters of this wage, the increase had been 9.8 per cent.

Mr Bruton ruled out expanding the membership of the central review committee of the PCW, in reply to the PD leader, Ms Mary Harney, who urged him to consider the case made by the Irish Small and Medium Enterprise Association (ISME) for representation on it.

However, he said he would ensure that in the preparation of any new programme mechanisms would be developed to allow for a contribution from a wider number of groups than at present, including ISME. Contributions from such groups would be limited to particular areas of direct relevance to their members.

Ms Harney claimed that more and more the committee was being seen as an insider's club. The trading sector of the economy, in particular, was not represented on it. Mr Bruton said it was fair to say that all the participants on the committee represented the trading sector.