The Government is today being urged to introduce penalties for people on the dole who refuse job offers.
"There should be a reduction in State assistance for somebody who, let’s say, refuses a number of job offers," said Irish Small & Medium Enterprise Association chief executive Mark Fielding.
"Otherwise we’re never going to make inroads into these unemployment figures which are disastrous at the moment."
The call comes as the CSO registered little change in the unemployment rate in the past month.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, 442,000 people were receiving unemployment benefits in March. However, the figure is up almost 11,000 on March last year.