The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern was today asked to increase the pace of national economic and social reforms to increase economic growth and stimulate employment.
The call came from Mr Mark Staunton, president of the Chambers of Commerce of Ireland, in an address to the Eurochambres Congress 2004 in Vienna today.
He said the "EU is continuing to lose competitiveness compared to the leading economies of the world. While the Irish Presidency did represent significant effort to refocus this agenda, we are concerned that the sheer breadth of the Lisbon vision and the weakness of the Open Method of Co-ordination mean that we will continue to underperform against the US and Asia."
Mr Staunton said the Government needed to invigorate the state enterprise sector by reducing entry barriers and generally promote competitiveness.
"Ireland must continue to build on successful initiatives in regard to research collaboration and the establishment of world class centres of excellence but with an increased emphasis on commercialisation of scientific research and the promotion of closer links with the indigenous SME sector.
"And our third recommendation is that the Government must move to implement the next generation of E-Government applications to deliver real savings for business and citizens alike," he concluded.