Professor John Fitzgerald of the Economic and Social Research Institute has said the decentralisation of the public service should be reversed.
Speaking on RTÉ's This Week, Mr Fitzgerald described decentralisation as a disaster.
He said further decentralisation would make the public sector very inefficient.
Mr Fitzgerald said that while much of the public sector worked well, it would have to work 'better than ever' with less resources in the future.
He also said the Government should implement up to €2.6bn of the recommendations made by the McCarthy report.
Speaking on the same programme, General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions David Begg reiterated that he will not stand over any reduction in the minimum wage.
Mr Begg said that social welfare payments should not be reduced.
He added that the Government should take an approach of responsibility and solidarity in dealing with the current economic crisis.
