Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will deal with that matter as the figures to which Deputy Howlin refers were published in the summer economic statement and referred to again by the Tánaiste yesterday. It is worthwhile making it clear that the same document highlights that we will still have over 2.1 million people at work in the economy. Of course, as the Deputy said correctly, the loss of any job presents a great difficulty and problem for the person who loses it and his or her family. Even though there are still high levels of employment within the economy, the Deputy is right that we have to mobilise all of our resources to keep people in work and ensure that, if citizens lose work, the loss will be temporary. In budget 2020 we will outline the resources that will be available to achieve this. There will be a combination of options. We will use the surplus we are aiming to generate next year and, if it is not sufficient, I have already indicated that we would be willing to run a temporary deficit to respond to the very issue the Deputy has identified.

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