The Minister for Social Affairs has said it is time to debunk many of the "myths and ill-informed pub talk" about unemployment and the "stereotyping" of genuine work-seekers.
Speaking on the publication of a report by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI), Mr Brennan said the research identified a range of barriers, or characteristics, which have been found to impact on a persons ability to find work.
These factors included age, gender, marital status, number of children, education, urban/rural location, literacy and access to transport.
Mr Brennan outlined a range of reforms and initiatives that he said needed to be urgently examined to ensure Ireland can meet the projected employment demands of a "surging economy over the next decade and further into the future".
Reforms and "visionary initiatives" needed to adequately meet the scale of emerging unemployment requirements should include early interventions to identify those at risk of long-term unemployment.
They should also include an intensification of efforts to attract back to Ireland those who emigrated in the past and who have the skills and qualities to make a valuable contribution to the Irish economy.
The ESRI report, Profiling the Unemployed: An Analysis of the Galway and Waterford Live-Register Surveys, was commissioned by the Department of Social Affairs.
Mr Brennan said the research paved the way for the development of a system that could play "a pivotal role in calculating the probability of an unemployed person finding work in the short term, or the danger of becoming long-term unemployed".
He said there are more people in employment in Ireland today than ever before.
"Since mid 1997, the number of people signing on the Live Register has fallen from almost 255,000 to less than 160,000. At the same time the numbers registered as long-term unemployed has fallen significantly from over 124,000 to just over 45,000."