Irish employer group IBEC and the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) have held meetings with the representatives of the EU, ECB and IMF.

CIF director Tom Parlon said the meetings were to discuss the role the construction industry can play in Ireland's economic recovery, and the competitiveness of the industry.

He said the construction industry had to operate under the regime of the Registered Employment Agreements, which he claimed resulted in the highest construction wages in Europe being paid here.

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Parlon claimed wage levels here were 30% to 40% higher than comparable rates in Northern Ireland, adding that this led to the rise of the black economy.

IBEC director general Danny McCoy said it was appropriate to review the Croke Park labor agreement with the Troika. He said the agreement had produced stability and some change over the past two years, but the pace of reform was too slow.

He said that, with a downgrading of growth prospects for the European and Irish economies, it was appropriate to talk about where any possible further budget adjustments would arise, and Croke Park would have to be part of that.