The number of employees in Enterprise Ireland, the body to be formed from the merger of Forbairt, the Irish Trade Board and parts of FAS, should be "vastly reduced", the Irish Exporters Association has said.

Mr Colum MacDonnell, chief executive of the association, said a voluntary severance scheme should be offered to the 1,200 employees involved, before the merger goes ahead. It is understood such a scheme is among the matters being discussed in talks between officials from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the bodies involved in the merger and trade union representatives.