Businessman Denis O'Brien has claimed there has been a "marked decline" in the efficiency of all parts of the Government due to remote working.
The founder of Digicel said that, with most civil servants working three days a week remotely, it is "difficult to see how we overcome our challenges".
He believes the country is "grinding to a halt" as a result of the hybrid working arrangements and he said that "every Government department is suffering."
"These problems are extremely serious and urgent," he added.
In an address to the Business Post's Economic Outlook Forum in Dublin, Mr O'Brien described remote working as "a mistake".
"One of the troubling issues we face is a decline in our work ethic and ensuing lower productivity," he added.
"We are fast reaching a situation where Irish graduates have become entitled in the way they dictate their work practices to employers," he said.
On remote working, Mr O’Brien said: "Everyone knows it was a mistake but won't admit that the system is mostly being gamed".
"How can people learn, share and solve problems and improve outcomes, never mind the long term potential mental health issues," he stated.
On infrastructure deficits, Denis O’Brien said the shortage of housing is "the single biggest impediment to our competitiveness and our society."
"We will not be able to grow our economy if people don't have a place to live," he told the delegates at the Dublin conference.
Mr O’Brien also said that he believes "vitally important infrastructure projects are being held up," which he said was "against the wishes of 99.999% of our citizens.
Ireland needs to prepare for next economic downturn
Mr O'Brien said Ireland needs to plan for the next economic downturn, which he believes will happen soon.
As part of that, he said "reform of all parts of the Government and its administration" must be looked at.
Mr O’Brien added the country "just cannot ignore what's happening in the wider world."
He called for the public and private sectors to work in unison.
"We now need a combination of political leadership, accountability and a radical sense of urgency and external expertise," he said.
The businessman said Ireland has become a "two speed" country, where "the private sector gets things done, while the public sector is stalling."
Mr O’Brien also said Ireland’s planning laws are "severely holding back the country, with three-year long debates and judicial reviews now the norm."
"We don't have enough electricity, water or housing and there are no timely planning decisions because of a lack of lack of joined up thinking."
He also called for Ursula von der Leyen to be replaced in her role as the President of the European Commission.
He said the EU has the "wrong political direction for the times that we are in" and he said he doesn’t see the changes that are needed happening under Ms von der Leyen.
Mr O’Brien told the delegates that he believes "Europe would be safer hands for the future under Mario Draghi."
Mr Draghi is a former President of the European Central Bank and the author of a report on the future of European competitiveness.
"In the absence of a change in the president of the commission, I would strongly advocate that the European Council should insist that Draghi is appointed a special envoy for the purpose of implementing his report to put Europe on the path of greater competitiveness," he said.
