Any new national partnership agreement must enable the State to maintain its competitiveness and ability to respond flexibly to external shocks, Forfas warned yesterday.
The organisation's chairman, Mr Tom Toner, insisted that a new accord must be consistent with the imperative of a more flexible, dynamic and competitive economy in which there was "an equitable sharing of the benefits of growth".
"Negotiations on any new agreement will face significant difficulties in relating expectations to these realities," he said.
Mr Toner, who is retiring as chairman of Forfas - the policy and advisory board for industrial development - also said it was essential that Irish business firms are well positioned to exploit the growing opportunities in the e commerce field. With this in mind, he added, the State must accelerate preparations for the next wave of e-commerce-related investment.
While welcoming the recently announced telecommunications project to expand broadband links with the rest of the world, he said it was vital that Ireland had the capacity, efficiency and skills to profit from this area of rapid business growth.
He said that Forfas had presented an e-commerce action plan for Ireland to the Tanaiste. It was prepared under the guidance of a steering committee chaired by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, with representatives of business, the trade unions and development agencies.
Mr Toner's statement, released with Forfas's annual report yesterday, drew attention to the State's severe infrastructural deficits in roads, public transport, water, telecommunications and regional air services.
He noted that while great strides had been made in closing per capita income gaps with EU averages, the infrastructure gap with our more developed EU partners had not closed to anything like the same extent. Our economic growth in future years would be greatly influenced by the manner with which this infrastructural deficit was tackled, he said.
The 1998 annual report also highlights the importance of increased investment by the State and private sector in science, technology and innovation.
Forfas has undertaken the publication of the Technology Fore- sight reports, in conjunction with the Irish Council for Science, Technology and Innovation, in an effort to identify likely sources of future competitive advantage.
Some 200 people across eight sectors were consulted as and the establishment of a £500 million fund to develop world-class research capabilities in niche areas over five or six years was recommended.
Mr Toner singled out two significant and positive developments for Irish business at EU level in 1998, namely the approval of the 12.5 per cent single corporation tax and the new EU regional aid guidelines.
Meanwhile, Forfas chief executive Mr John Travers described 1998 as the fifth successive year of record job-creation in Ireland and noted the encouraging fall in long-term unemployment.
He said the orientation of public policies such as infrastructural investment, R & D, education, regulation and taxation, in a way which met the needs of the economy more effectively than competing countries, would effectively determine future economic success and living standards.
