Four essential conditions

Cost competitiveness: The Government must dismantle the "many legislative shelters" that restrict competition in the economy so that markets can become more efficient, according to the Enterprise Strategy Group's report.

The group also advises that the Competition Authority should be given the ability to levy fines on anybody who deliberately inhibits competition.

Effective competition is one of the four foundations of a sustainable enterprise culture, the group concluded. In its report, the group refers to a recent study by the World Economic Forum which found that the intensity of local competition in the Republic was 14th worst out of 16 OECD countries.

The process of dismantling sheltered environments should extend to state-owned enterprises in sectors such as transport and waste management, the group believes.

The Government should take up the baton on the process, the report concludes.

It also recommends that quantitative restrictions of any kind that limit entry to a market, or shelter incumbents, should be removed.

Entry to all professions should instead be based on qualitative criteria, the group's chairman, Mr Eoin O'Driscoll said yesterday.

He said such a system already worked well for some professions, such as engineers, and must be extended to all.

Claims that a particular sector is "special" should be rejected, the group advises in its report.

"Opening up the professions can play a huge role in creating an internationally traded sector," Mr O'Driscoll said.

The Competition Authority should meanwhile be able to apply civil, as well as crimina,l sanctions so that it can pursue a greater volume of infringements, according to the report.

It also calls for greater transparency in the implementation of regulations that affect business.

Studies into the impact of such regulations must be published and the Department of the Taoiseach given a strong ""screening role", the group believes.

A further simplification of the regulatory infrastructure should be achieved, according to the report, through the amalgamation of existing regulators for electricity, gas, telecommunications and broadcasting into one body.

The group also recommends that employees across all business sectors should be rewarded financially for greater productivity - and hence greater competitiveness - through schemes such as employee share-ownership plans or gain sharing.