Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

What we are hearing from the Ministers for Public Expenditure and Reform and Finance, through the media, is that the package will involve Covid-related expenditure of €9 billion, of which €5 billion will relate to the income supports while the majority of what remains will relate to health. This is Covid-related and just intended to keep the lights on over the coming period. There is to be a €1 billion increase in capital spending, which was already flagged in last year's budget, and €1.1 billion in carryover spending relating to a number of different measures. There is also to be a discretionary package of €900 million. That is what would have been in the summer economic statement if we had one but we do not have one. Will the Minister of State therefore confirm that is the package we are looking at before the Government decides on any additional policies it may want to introduce?