Exporters have urged the Minister for Finance, Mr Cowen, to cut employers' PRSI and invest billions more in infrastructure to help address their "loss of competitive advantage".
The Irish Exporters' Association (IEA) says that Irish labour costs are too high, while "third-world infrastructure" is holding back growth.
The association's pre-Budget submission, published yesterday, calls on Mr Cowen to improve the cost base for exporters.
The IEA argues that this is needed to "prevent total erosion of the trading margin and withdrawal from certain markets".
As a short-term measure, the IEA is also seeking an elimination of excise duty on diesel as long as oil prices remain above "the norm" of €30 per barrel.
IEA chairman Mr Michael Counihan said Irish labour costs are generally "non-competitive" for exporting companies.
The association wants the Minister to reduce employers' PRSI by two percentage points. Employers currently pay either 8.5 or 10.75 per cent in PRSI for their employees, depending on the employee's salary. Exporters are also seeking a widening of the income tax bands to reverse increases in the number of workers paying tax at 42 per cent.
A change in this policy would help to keep labour cost increases close to the euro-zone average of 2.8 per cent over the coming year, according to the IEA.
The Minister must also invest an extra €1 billion per year in upgrading road systems if export growth is to be maintained, the IEA warns.
