SIPTU President Jack O'Connor has urged the Government to forget about tax cuts for up to seven years in order to fund investment in public services.
Addressing his union's biennial conference in Cork, Mr O'Connor also called on the Government to set a date for a referendum to ensure that Irish Water could never be privatised.
He told delegates it was possible that the Irish economy could continue to grow at around 3% a year over the medium term, despite what he called "anaemic" growth globally.
He said that in that scenario, growth could generate the necessary resources for an "Agenda 2022" programme to enable incremental improvements in public health, housing, education, eldercare, childcare over the next seven years in time for the centenary of the founding of the state.
However, Mr O’Connor cautioned that if the economy failed to grow at an average rate of 3% in real terms, prioritising this kind of investment could well mean forgetting about tax cuts altogether for a period of five to seven years.
He warned that achieving that goal would require development of a broad movement of trade unions, civil society organisations, political parties and individuals of the Left, irrespective of whether they are serving in government or not.
Mr O'Connor referred to a motion on the conference agenda seeking a review of the union's political fund which has traditionally contributed to electoral candidates who are members and standing for Labour.
A second motion seeks to end SIPTU's longstanding affiliation to the Labour Party.
He urged delegates to overcome petty differences in the trade union movement and on the Left, and to stop confusing that which is popular with that which is genuinely progressive.
On the controversial water charges issue, he said a referendum to prohibit future privatisation of the public water supply would deal with an issue that had divided and alienated hundreds of thousands of citizens.
He said Irish Water should be redesignated as a non-commercial semi-state body to enable it to supply every household with the water required to meet all domestic requirements free of charge.
Mr O'Connor said meters should be used to charge for waste and encourage conservation.
He also said he made no apology for insisting workers in Irish Water should continue to enjoy decent collectively bargained conditions of employment.
Mr O'Connor also condemned any attempt to justify rejecting refugees on the basis of Ireland's failure to provide proper homes and decent jobs for many thousands of Ireland’s own citizens.
He acknowledged the compelling urgency of providing homes and jobs for all, but said that was not an argument for rejecting those who might arrive seeking refuge from what he called "hell on earth".
