The social partnership organisation Cori Justice said today's Estimates include a number of "significant and welcome initiatives" but that "much remains to be done".
Fr Sean Healy of Cori said it was clear there are sufficient resources available for allocation in next month's Budget to address the social problems that persist, "despite more than a decade of economic prosperity".
"The increased allocations for social housing, primary healthcare teams and official development assistance are very welcome. These increases honour commitments contained in the national agreement Towards 2016 and are significant," he said.
"The persistence of social problems, however, is no longer acceptable when Ireland has the resources to address these problems. Ireland's economy is doing very well but a range of social problems persist. The persistence of poverty in Ireland reported earlier today by the CSO bears ample testimony to this fact."
He called for an increase of €20 per week in the lowest social welfare rates for single people, for a fairer tax system and for efforts to tackle child poverty and what he called the "working poor" issue.
The business and employer lobby group Ibec welcomes the expenditure increase "frontline" services in today's Estimates.
However, it said the failure to identify explicitly efficiency gains elsewhere in the system, particularly in administration, is an "ongoing concern".
Ibec director general Turlough O'Sullivan said: "Given the scale of the near €60 billion expenditure package planned for 2007, equating to €30,000 for each worker in Ireland, the demand for efficiencies is obviously high.
"Each household in the State is now contributing €13,000 towards the public sector pay and pensions bill and this is a cost area that must be controlled," he said.
"It is crucial that everyone realises that a competitive enterprise sector ensures that people have jobs and the government has the revenue to look after the weaker sections of the community. Accordingly, government must play its part in reducing costs and inflation."