The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has said that the Government has prepared "built-in" risk plans for the future to ensure the current economic recovery is maintained.
Richard Bruton said it was important that workers were protected now that recovery from the crash is under way.
"The economy now is completely different from the one that caused the crash," he said.
He added that the Government now has built-in buffers to both its fiscal and enterprise strategies to protect against what he termed "unforeseen global events".
The Government, he said, has to fix the damage done to families through increased taxes over the last few years and that investment must now also be made in public services that also suffered through the recession.
Mr Bruton, standing in Dublin Bay North, said it is only when the economy that sustains growth is created that the damage to the public can be repaired.
He also said that he was not concerned about stories concerning a decision by US company Johnson Controls to acquire Tyco in Cork.
Some US politicians, including Hillary Clinton, have condemned the tax-saving deal.
However the Fine Gael minister said the IDA was interested in companies of substance investing in this country and they would compete for this investment.
He added that if there are problems with the US tax code and the solutions to this lie in the US - not in Ireland.
Also on the programme, Minister Bruton echoed the Taoiseach by refusing to categorically rule out any link-up with Independent TD Michael Lowry in the next government.
He explained that the Government is not going into the election with the intention of creating a coalition with independents and that they are entering the election with the intention of returning a Fine Gael/Labour government.
Mr Bruton did point out that Mr Lowry had been expelled from Fine Gael party and that was "as categorical as could be".
He said Fine Gael's job in this election would be to deliver its plan to the public and be re-elected so they would not have to consider making deals with independents.
Mr Bruton said he did not want to see a return to the days of "shopping list politics" which, in his opinion, Mr Lowry and other independents may bring with them.
To hear the Morning Ireland segment in full, listen here...
