UCD economist Colm McCarthy, who chaired the review group, said the measures were required because of the fiscal position of the State which was currently borrowing €400m per week at “a penalty interest rate” higher than other countries were paying.
He pointed out that the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan had already indicated there was little scope for imposing further taxes which meant that there was, "no alternative but to push ahead with the fiscal consolidation".
He indicated a preference on the part of the Group to increase the age of qualification for occupational and old age pensions because of "a sharp increase in life expectancy".
"Because people are living longer, this increase in longevity is causing huge problems for State pension schemes and defined benefit schemes in the private sector." But he did not specify a new age for retirement.
On rationalising local councils, he said there were "full local authorities" in counties whose populations were no bigger than suburbs in the city of Dublin.
He said one of the themes of the report was "an attempt to spring-clean the organisational chart of the Irish public sector" by, for example, reducing the number of quasi-non-governmental organisations or "quangoes". They looked at State agencies and asked, "What are they doing? Do we need that many of them?"
There was also a need for increased flexibility in the public service: this was "absolutely fundamental". Nor should the decline in the property market deter State bodies from disposing of assets in this area.
"We had a credit-fuelled property bubble and it's over," Mr McCarthy said. "You want to be careful you're not carrying assets that you don't need."
He also suggested that, instead of taxing or means-test child benefit, the best approach might be to cut the basic rate from €166 per child per month to €136. Social welfare payments could be reduced by 5 per cent because of the decline in the inflation rate and still retain the same value as in Summer 2008.