The Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform has said he is bringing a proposal to Cabinet today to resolve the issue over women on maternity leave being excluded from the Covid-19 Temporary Wage subsidy scheme.
Speaking on Morning Ireland, Paschal Donohoe said he is trying to ensure that everyone will be treated fairly.
"It is our absolute intention to treat everyone fairly and I hope later on today we will be able to bring clarity to that important issue," the Minister said.
Mr Donohoe also said the Government will be making a decision in the coming weeks on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment.
He said while he has already indicated the Government's plan to continue it beyond the current expiry date, they will be making the final decision on the duration "in the coming week or so".
For those concerned about the loss of income when they had been working full time, he said the very reason the PUP was increased was in recognition of the "huge difficulty" facing many people over losing their jobs.
He said the Government will confirm the amount of the pandemic payment going forward at a Cabinet meeting.
But he added that the scheme is costing many hundreds of millions of euros every week and any decision the Government makes needs to be "affordable and sustainable".
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Looking at the broader picture, Paschal Donohoe said the Government will be looking at the European Commission's recovery fund to help the economy after Covid-19.
He believes funding will become available later this year or early next year and said that Ireland will be looking at opportunities to fund current programmes or to fund new programmes.
Separately, Mr Donohoe said issues discussed as part of government formation talks include pension issues and income supports.
He said the context for all these decisions have completely changed because of Covid-19.
