Business group IBEC says the upcoming budget for 2020 should be used to steer the economy in a new direction.

In its pre-budget submission, it has called on the Government to grow indigenous Irish enterprise and reinvent Ireland's offering to multinational firms.

It says "brave and necessary steps" need to be taken to protect the Irish business model, as the economy enters its most strategically important period in a generation.

It calls for a range of policy measures - including building on progress by nurturing indigenous business.

"The Government should build on the State's traditional success in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) and take concrete steps to grow our indigenous business base," it says.

It says there is a need to reinvent the offering to multinationals: "The OECD/G20 process of reforming global corporate taxation poses potentially very significant challenges to Ireland's traditional FDI model.

"The State needs to radically improve our investment in education, infrastructure, innovation, and tax supports for advanced manufacturing to provide certainty to our business model."

It also highlights the high cost of housing, long commutes and challenges to the environment as the top barriers to attracting and retaining talent.

"Budget 2020 must assertively confront these fundamental impediments to quality of life by delivering public infrastructure to match growing private investment.", IBEC says.

While on Brexit, it adds: "The risk of a no-deal Brexit casts a shadow over Budget 2020.

"The Government must do more to support business, as it prepares for all eventualities.

"There must be a stronger delivery on Brexit preparation and mitigation measures domestically, including far-reaching stabilisation measures in the event of no deal."

Ibec's director of policy Fergal O'Brien says: "The Exchequer has received a €14.3bn corporate tax surprise over the past four years, but we haven't used this revenue wisely.

"Budget 2020 must chart a new course - we must reinvest the fruits of enterprise success into infrastructure, innovation and education and not embed it into the day-to-day cost of running the country."