Trade unions should engage in negotiation rather than strike action, the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan said today.
Speaking to RTÉ at the Small Firms Association annual conference in Dublin, Ms Coughlan said alternatives suggested by social partners would be listened to, adding that "we have had a long number of years when we didn’t have those actions and as a consequence we have had a great working between ourselves and our social partners".
Responding to last night's meeting of a new alliance to fight pay cuts, Ms Coughlan said the McCarthy report formed only part of the basis for the Budget discussions.
While no-one wanted to see a reduction in frontline services, savings still had to be found, she said.
Ms Coughlan told delegates at the conference she wanted to take every possible step to foster a “can-do” business attitude and a healthy entrepreneurial culture across Ireland, in her role as Minister for Enterprise.
She said that nurturing the development of such a culture shift, together with providing continued support for innovative thinking through the enterprise agencies, would be central to the development of a smart economy in the years ahead.
The Tánaiste also announced that she intended to bring forward a National Entrepreneurship Strategy to ensure existing initiatives aimed at stimulating entrepreneurship are incorporated in a cohesive and coordinated approach to drive increased entrepreneurial activity.
Meanwhile, the Small Firms Association (SFA) today called for a government-backed loan scheme to help small business.
Dr Aidan O’Boyle, chairman of the organisation, said Ireland’s hope for the future will be through the success of small business, who will move “beyond the crisis”, by exploiting the opportunities that arise "rather than being dragged down by the dangers".
"Government now needs to introduce as a matter of urgency, a Government-backed loan guarantee scheme to ensure that credit flows once again to small business. Nama of itself will not, in our view, produce this result," according to Dr O'Boyle.
"Unless the lending risk to the banks is reduced by the introduction of such a loan-guarantee scheme, many small businesses are going to continue to struggle. We, small business, are the life blood of this country and it is time this was recognised. We need action and not further reports”.
Dr O'Boyle also called for a reduction of the State's public sector, in line with the recommendations of An Bord Snip Nua report, and an increase in its efficiency.
"In Budget 2010 we want to see a €3 billion cut in current public expenditure - €1 billion to come from a reduction in the unit cost of provision of public services (through decreases in public sector pay and radically altering the public sector pension provision); €1 billion reduction in the social welfare bill and €1 billion from efficiency gains across the broader current public expenditure heads."
He said tax increases should not exceed €1 billion and warned against a further rise in income tax to the detrimental effect on consumer confidence.
"However, whatever any individual business-owner can do within their own business will be worthless if the government does not reinvent itself too," Dr O'Boyle added.