Ireland is now a wealthy country and should be investing more heavily in its public services, the Chief Executive of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation says.
Speaking at the Industrial Relations News online conference, Danny McCoy (pictured) said that before the COVID-19 pandemic, Ireland had 2.3 million people at work, yet only 350,000 were public sector workers.
“The public-private ratio is out of balance. You are looking at the low teens as a percentage of the workforce,” Mr McCoy said.
“Public Service pay is only at 10 per cent of Ireland’s €360 billion ($A586 billion) Gross Domestic Product (GDP).”
He said that as people get richer — “as evidenced by the disposable income and household savings being at record levels, with €120 billion ($A195 billion) on deposit” — a rich society would demand better public services.
“The population is also at almost five million, putting pressure on public resources such as education, transport and housing. The economy has become unbalanced,” Mr McCoy said.
“Social dialogue must steer the country to better trade-offs.”
He said that after the United Kingdom parted from the EU, Ireland would be seen as a “lean oasis of stability”.
“This is not a mirage. The surge in resources is reflected at household level, with a doubling of disposable income in 10 to 12 years, in stark comparison with Britain, which has seen its resources depleted,” Mr McCoy said.
He warned against developing “private affluence and public squalor”.
“This country has seen a surge of affluence, with many people taking three-to-five trips abroad per year,” Mr McCoy said.
“However, anger at poor public services and housing shortages was shown in the election result earlier this year.”
Dublin, 14 November 2020
