The Minister for Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform has said he is "absolutely certain" that all of the income support commitments made by the Government can be sustained for the agreed 12 week period.
But Paschal Donohoe said a decision "on how much further we could go, depends on where we stand with Covid-19." Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Seán O'Rourke, the Minister said the pandemic unemployment payment and the wage subsidy scheme used by 40,000 companies is costing the state between "€300-400m per week".
He said this can be funded for a 12 week period. He supported comments made earlier by the Minister for Health Simon Harris that any return to activity, in early May, would be guided by public health authorities and would be "very