The National Competitiveness and Productivity Council (NCPC) has said its vital that Ireland continues to pursue domestic policies that allow it to continue to compete globally.
In its pre-Budget paper, the NCPC also said that in the context of the country's strong but uncertain corporation tax receipts, the Government should be prioritising "prudent productivity-enhancing capital investment."
The council also warned against the use of one-off broad supports for business, except as a last recourse.
It said the ongoing use of such supports can give rise to questionable value for money.
Instead, it said the Government should focus on ensuring necessary and fundamental conditions for firms to compete are fair and adequate.
The council also said it is a matter of urgency that the efficiency and effectiveness of our planning and regulatory system is a matter of urgency in order to address infrastructural deficits.
It said the implementing the Planning and Development Bill and establishing the new Planning and Environment Court are "of key importance in enhancing infrastructure delivery and making effective use of available capital funds."
It also called for the use of the National Training Fund surplus to help in meeting current and future skills needs.
This, it said, is because the effective matching of skills and lifelong learning play a critical role in easing constraints and boosting productivity.
It also advocated for changes to the structure of the R&D Tax Credit.
As an alternative it said an innovation-based incentive should be introduced to help drive an increase in innovation among SMEs.
This, it said, is because innovation performance of smaller firms is critical to a country’s competitiveness over the long-term.
The publication of the pre-budget paper comes weeks after the Taoiseach convened a Competitiveness Summit aimed at identifying what measures were needed to ensure Ireland’s economy remains competitive into the future.
The summit agreed the recognition of the need to adequately resource the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission so that it could identify and remove barriers to competition.
It also agreed to establish a pathway for a sustainable utilisation of the National Training Fund, which has a surplus of in excess of €1.5 billion.
The gathering also agreed that consideration should be given to options to further incentivise business investment in R&D and innovation.
