Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is only fair to say that the Government has not been found wanting when it comes to supporting people directly impacted by the economic devastation caused by Covid-19.

We have extended the PUP again, leaving it open for new entrants and maintaining the higher rates. The same applies to the wage subsidy scheme. The Government has spent vast sums of money to try, insofar as we can, to cushion the blow for people who were directly affected by the loss of a job or the loss of business income. I am not saying that we have always got it right but we have certainly tried our best with initiatives like the local authority rates waiver and the new Covid restrictions support scheme. We had a €19 billion deficit last year not because our taxation receipts collapsed but because we spent the money that we needed to spend to support people. That was the right thing to do and it is the Government's intention to continue to support people. That is why we have provided a Covid recovery fund of €3.4 billion. We also have a contingency fund of €2 billion. We will need those funds over the coming months in order to be able to continue to support people. That is the Government's strategy and we are in a position to pursue countercyclical policies at the moment. We can borrow at historically low rates of interest and will do so in a responsible way.