1. Unions

An exercise in "fantasy" and "sheer nonsense" was how Siptu leader Jack O'Connor described the report which took several swings at social partnership, one of Colm McCarthy's pet hates.

But the leader of the biggest trade union in the country was more restrained than he had previously been about the electricians' dispute, suggesting a more measured response from the private sector unions.

Not so the public sector unions, where Peter McLoone of Impact threatened strikes if, as the report suggests, public service pay is cut. John Carr of the national teachers union, the INTO, said the report was an attack on education.

If pay is touched, the national strike that was cancelled earlier this year will be back on.

2. Farmers

Farmers got a bit of a hammering from the UCD economist, who recommended the closure of the Rural Environmental Protection Scheme and the termination of the suckler cow scheme as well as severe staff cuts in the department of agriculture and Teagasc.

Within minutes of the report being published, agriculture minister Brendan Smith's state car was attacked by angry farmers in west Cork.

Speaking on RTE radio moments later, IFA president Pádraig Walshe's apology was less than fulsome, suggesting more vociferous protests are on the way.

3. The Elderly

Fresh from their surprisingly effective protest last October over the withdrawal of the automatic right to a medical card for over-70s, which saw the government execute the sharpest of u-turns, the elderly will be back if the government presses ahead with McCarthy's recommendations on the state pension, rural transport and home care services.

Eamon Timmins of Age Action Ireland said McCarthy's report included "some very drastic cuts for older people", adding that it was the government's job to protect its most vulnerable citizens.

4. Students

Students were also targeted, with McCarthy recommending a €70m cut in the €270m student support scheme, and backing the reintroduction of third level fees, proposals that were roundly criticised by the Union of Students in Ireland and the Irish Federation of University Teachers.

While student marches do not have the shock value of protesting pensioners and cannot hurt the economy, they could have a destabilising effect on an already nervy government.

5. The Unemployed

In terms of pure cash, the country's growing band of social welfare recipients are in line for the deepest cuts of all – €1.8bn, or one third of the €5.3bn recommended.

"What is so striking about the recommendations is how much the less well-off in Irish society are being asked to pay for the failings of the Celtic Tiger," said John Stewart of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed.

Like students, the INOU's ability to protest is limited. Far more effective as a 'silent' protest will be the grim TV pictures of snaking dole queues in various parts of the country . But the various unemployed action groups, part of the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), will be far more militant."We need an autumn of protest to kick Cowen and his government out," said the SWP on the report.