The Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise has said the updated reopening plan to be announced by the Government next week will likely include the reinstatement of click and collect, non-essential retail, the rest of construction and personal services from May.
Robert Troy said the plan will also include a roadmap for the reopening of hotels and the hospitality sector from the end of May and beginning of June.
Speaking to a webinar organised by the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) for its members, he also confirmed that the Government plans to publish the National Economic Recovery Plan in the middle to end of May.
"It is about how we can stimulate the domestic economy," he said.
"It will give certainty in relation to the supports that are currently in place and I want to reassure your members that there will be no sudden cliff-edge at the end of June," Mr Troy said.
"There will be a tapering and there will be enhanced supports for sectors that have been most adversely effected by this pandemic," he added.
Minister Troy said the Government wants this to be the last lockdown and it does not want really hard-fought gains from January to be lost for the sake of a week, fortnight or three weeks.
Asked if the Government would consider introducing additional public holidays in the tourism season to stimulate demand, Minister Troy said he didn't know how seriously it had been discussed.
He he said he did know that the idea has been "bandied about" and the "suggestion has been made".
Mr Troy also said the Government hopes to be in a position to announce a new scheme for non-rateable businesses who have had fixed overheads but have not been able to access any support schemes to date.
The Minister of State also said Heads of Bill for the Summary Rescue Package, which would introduce a quick and cost effective administrative restructuring process for viable small and micro businesses, will be brought to Government the week after next, with a view to having it enacted before the summer recess.
Regarding the question of whether Revenue would be excluded from the Summary Rescue scheme, he said there is ongoing engagement on this and he thinks businesses will be happy with what is presented before cabinet in a couple of weeks.
On the issue of access to credit, Mr Troy said he was worried about the uptake of the €2 billion Credit Guarantee Scheme and how efficiently it is working, and that is why it has been extended to the end of this year.
"To my mind that is a clear indication that it is not working as it was originally envisaged," he said.
"I do think something needs to be done in relation to the criteria," he added.
He also said there had been initial talks about allowing people who had been doubly vaccinated quicker access to services than people who weren't, but he added that he didn't know if that had "floated" well.
"How we are going to open up is under discussion at the moment between Department of Health, Department of Taoiseach and this department," he said.
