The Minister for Finance has said that changes to the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme to make sure it is more effective for those on lower incomes are being made today.
Paschal Donohoe said the wage subsidy scheme is keeping over 400,000 people in a job which is critical for the economy.
Mr Donohoe said that pandemic welfare payments are going to continue in a form but the level of payment and what form they will continue in will be decided on soon.
He said the supports are working to keep people in a job and to cope with a huge change in living standards.
But the payments are costing many hundreds of millions each week and will be changed in a way that is affordable but also makes sense to citizens, Mr Donohoe said.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Paschal Donohoe said he is absolutely confident the country can rise to and overcome the current challenges to the national finances and to the numbers of job losses.
But he added that forecast deficit could rise beyond €23 billion depending on the success the country has in overcoming the public health challenge .
The Minister for Finance also said that the Government can sustain its income and welfare supports for now through borrowings, but it will have to consider tax increases in the future as borrowing reduces.
Minister Donohoe said for now it is important to minimise any changes to taxes.
He said that incomes are falling and if taxes are increased now "it will make the job of getting Ireland back to work harder".
Mr Donohoe said the country can sustain what we are doing by borrowing as the public finances were in a good condition going into the crisis.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
He said while we will have to continue borrowing, it will be necessary to look at increasing taxes in the future.
Paschal Donohoe also said that the business support scheme offers a huge suite of measures to support companies.
Under the scheme, a small company can avail of the wage subsidy scheme, have its tax liabilities warehoused and rates waived. Grants for companies are also available.
Mr Donohoe said that as the Government looks at how the economy can re-open, it can review if the supports are adequate and are having the desired effect.
Meanwhile, Sinn Féin's Finance spokesman Pearse Doherty said he does not believe ordinary families should suffer tax increases as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Pearse Doherty said that the economy was being put on hold for public health reasons and the burden of recovery cannot be put back onto workers.
He said that Sinn Féin was concerned this might happen because the Government have made it clear that they will adhere to fiscal rules.
