The head of business group IBEC is calling for no further tax increases.

Danny McCoy says the focus has to be on reducing expenditure rather than increasing the tax burden on Irish workers.

Speaking at the IBEC CEO Conference in Dublin Danny McCoy said any increase would make Ireland uncompetitive.

At the same event, the The President of the European Commission said this morning that the Irish economy has turned a corner.

Jose Manuel-Barroso said confidence is returning throughout Europe but more needs to be done to tackle youth unemployment.

"(The) Irish economy is turning the corner - the employment figures just published today suggest clearly that this may be happening" he said.

"It shows that the programmes can work, it shows that there is light at the end of the tunnel - and it shows that you can be part of creating that positive growth" he added.

While Mr. McCoy believes there is no point in demanding equity until there is something to divide up.