The Minister for Finance has said the State can afford to continue to fund the measures put in place by the Government to deal with the fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic.
But speaking on a PwC webinar this morning, Paschal Donohoe said the country could not afford them indefinitely.
"There will come a point that as we are hopefully making progress and normalising where we are from a public health point of view, that I, this Government and the next Government will have to do the same with our public finances," he said.
He said the country can afford the change in the debt profile that will take place, because the state has regained its credit worthiness over the last decade and because of the decisions made by the European Central Bank.
"It is open to them to do more in the future," he said.
The Finance Minister also said that in the next few weeks the Government would begin to lay out the path to how it plans to deal with the future of the income supports put in place to help those who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19.
Paschal Donohoe said recent changes to the wage subsidy scheme need to be given time to bed down.
"In the next number of weeks we will outline a path forward for the subsidy scheme and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment," he said.
Mr Donohoe also said it is possible to reopen the economy at different speeds within the published roadmap.
But he said that speed could go in a number of different directions and while it is possible to see us go quicker, it is equally possible if the disease takes a different dimension that we may need to slow down.
"I can absolutely assure you that the kind of balanced debate I think many of you would want inside the Government is absolutely happening, and I am very much aware of what the economic, investor and employee consequences would be if the disease were to strengthen again and what that would mean for our economy," he said.
Asked why Ireland was not reopening at the same speed as other countries like New Zealand, Mr Donohoe said Ireland has a lot in common with New Zealand which is also an island and open economy.
But there are really fundamental differences in terms of Covid-19 and the geographic location, he said.
"We are right beside very large countries and the continent of Europe which is having very different experiences of Covid at the moment," he said.
Regarding the threat facing the hospitality industry, Mr Donohoe said he is keenly aware of the impact of Covid-19 on that part of the economy and the challenges it faces in the future regarding social distancing.
He said a range of supports have already been put in place that would help the sector.
"I know that I'll need to engage further with that sector, or the new Government will, to look at how we can support it in reopening," he said.
He added that the economy would be in a really difficult place if we did not find a way for the sector to reopen in a different manner and he or the new Government will have to work with the sector to see how that can happen.
Mr Donohoe also confirmed infrastructure development would play an important role in the reopening of the economy.
The Minister for Finance has said he believes the Government will be able to work with President Trump or future American presidents to sustain US investment in Ireland.
Paschal Donohoe said he believes there is a very compelling case as to why it is in the interests of US companies to continue investing here.
He was reacting to comments made earlier this week by Mr Trump, who vowed to bring US pharmaceutical manufacturing back to America, making specific reference to Ireland.
Speaking during today's PwC organised webinar, Mr Donohoe said he has had a lot of engagement with President Trump's administration in the last number of years.
"They have a fundamentally different view of global trade and the global economy to their predecessors," he said.
"But this is a view we have now heard on many many occasions and yes they have taken action about it in the past, but that action and that view has still allowed Ireland to maintain and in many cases grow our share of global investment and global jobs," the Minister stated.
Mr Donohoe said it was his belief that this Government and future Irish governments will still be able to work with President Trump if he is re-elected, or a future American President, to sustain US investment in Ireland.
He said he believes Ireland can make a very compelling case as to why it is in the interest of those companies to do this and also in the interests of the US economy.
However, he added that trade needs to be mutually beneficial to be sustainable.
