New figures showing that Ireland moved back into recession in late 2011 demonstrate the urgent need for a major Jobs and Growth Investment Programme, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said.
Speaking after new data from the Central Statistics Office showed falls in GDP, GNP and domestic demand, Congress Chief Economist Paul Sweeney said: "Once again we see clear proof of the self-defeating nature of the austerity regime. It is collapsing demand, costing jobs and strangling all prospects of recovery.
"Congress has made several proposals on how Government could move quickly to set up a high impact Jobs & Growth Investment Programme. This can be funded by monies remaining in the National Pension Reserve Fund, through incentivising private Irish pension fund investment and leveraging resources from the European Investment Bank.
"We need to move on these as a matter of urgency," Mr Sweeney said.
"The latest data clearly shows that prospects of a recovery are receding and will continue to do so while we fail to act on job creation and investment," he added.
