The Government's plan to spur life back into the Irish economy is headed by a €500 million 10-year investment fund in high-tech industries, along with numerous tax breaks to encourage entrepreneurship.
The document, titled "Building Ireland's Smart Economy: A Framework for Sustainable Economic Renewal", was unveiled by Taoiseach Brian Cowen, accompanied by four senior ministers in Dublin Castle.
In his speech, Mr Cowen said he wanted to ensure that Ireland does not "just survive" the global recession: "When this is over there will be a new economic order and I want Ireland to be positioned to take full advantage of the opportunities that will be presented."
However, the Government is already facing criticism that most of the proposals in the document, including a €30 billion investment in renewable energy by the ESB and Eirgrid, have already been announced.
Responding to questions, Mr Cowen said he could deal with the Government's mushrooming Exchequer deficit by cutting billions off the National Development Plan, "but this I will not do," he added.
He insisted that the plan must be "allied" with a New Year agreement with social partners to cut public spending and restore stability to the Exchequer's finances. The social partners have been asked to make their contributions in January.
"I don't want to mislead people into believing that this framework we are launching today is an instant solution to all our problems. Many of the factors that will determine the timing and pace of the recovery, such as exchange and interest rates, are beyond our control.
“It is important, therefore, to emphasise today that there are no 'magic bullets' that can allow us to avoid the consequences of the international recession. But we refuse to simply weather the 'perfect storm' of negative international economic factors," said Mr Cowen.
Promising increased tax breaks for multi-nationals investing in research and development, the Taoiseach promised "a green new deal" to boost renewable energy production and create so-called "green collar" jobs.
"We should not lose sight of the fact that while we must confront challenging economic circumstances, there are also great opportunities on the horizon. But achieving them will be demanding. It will challenge us all to innovate and change, to reinvent what we do and how we do it. In this situation, we need to think differently, think smart and to foster a culture of creativity and innovation in everything we do.
“Put simply, we must get more for less," said Mr Cowen.
Making it clear that public sector workers will have to make concessions – even though their nature was not spelt out, he said: "We need to be prepared to look at new ways to provide the services the public need in the most efficient and effective manner. We must focus spending on areas of greatest priority and reduce sharply those activities which are not essential."
