Voters want more nurses, gardaí and teachers, according to the latest opinion poll.
An Ipsos/MRBI survey in The Irish Times showed 27% of respondents believed the hiring of more public servants should be the first priority.
That compares to only 6% who said increasing public sector pay should be the first priority.
The poll carried out on Monday and Tuesday of this week asked 1,200 people to rank their preferences in terms of Government spending.
Pat Leahy, Deputy Political Editor of The Irish Times, says people are very clear about what they want.
Speaking to Newstalk Breakfast, he explained: "There's certainly very little support for the prioritisation of public sector pay - that finding is pretty clear. Polls of this nature, often you'll find that everybody finds something to cheer in them - but actually this one is pretty unambiguous.
"People I think realise that the Government has some limited extra resources to spend - and they're very clear about what they believe the priorities should be in that."
He observed: "It's not tax cuts, it's not public sector pay, it's not increasing welfare payments. It is instead increasing capital spending and recruiting more nurses, more gardaí and more teachers."
