Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan has described the level of unemployment as very serious and added that the Government is working on a job protection scheme.
His comments came as official CSO figures reveal that there has been a sharp fall in the overall number of people in work.
Read the full CSO Report
The figures put the unemployment rate at 10.2% - the highest since 1997.
In the year to March, there was a decrease of 158,500 or 7.5% in the numbers of people in employment.
The worst affected sector was the construction industry where the numbers employed fell by 28.6%.
Reacting to criticism by the Oppositon, Mr Lenihan told reporters that the Government's policies have been supported by the IMF.
He said the Opposition had reduced the debate on the economy to a blame game, while the nation needed to move forward to implement NAMA, pass the Lisbon Treaty and re-organise the public finances.
