Reduce numbers of civil servants by 7,500, ISME urges in pre-Budget paper

THE Government needs to reduce the numbers working in the civil service by 7,500, according to ISME’s pre-budget submission.

The Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) outlined its pre-budget submissions at a meeting with Finance Minister Brian Cowen yesterday and described the increasing costs of the public sector as “a tightening noose around the neck of the Exchequer.”

They said the key issue in formulating this year’s Budget from an SME perspective is to restore Irish competitiveness to allow businesses compete with international trading partners and provide a solid platform in Ireland. The association warned the minister that, even though the general economic fundamentals are positive, there is the temptation to ‘spend for the day’ particularly with an election on the horizon.

ISME has argued strongly against such an approach and believes all expenditure should be assessed against the strict criteria of long-term return on investment, continued value for money and a high social return that will only benefit the entire economy.

It said it is essential that long-term economic planning and not costly stop-go volatility in spending and taxation policies are central to the implementation of this year’s Budget.

The association also said Ireland has a significant infrastructure deficit that needs to be urgently addressed in a coherent and planned basis.

ISME said the benchmarking initiative has failed to add the impetus required to introduce an efficient and effective public sector.

Proposals included calls for taxation credits and standard rate bands to be adjusted to reflect inflation and minimum wage earners should be exempt from paying tax.

An increase in the level of infrastructure spending to 7% of GNP over the next 10 years and increased funding and tax breaks towards the building and provision of childcare facilities were also among the proposals.