Dáil debates

Thursday, 23 July 2020

Ceisteanna ar Reachtaíocht a Gealladh - Questions on Promised Legislation

 

12:20 pm

Photo of Leo VaradkarLeo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Cabinet will meet in Dublin Castle this afternoon. At that meeting, all things going to plan, the Government will agree the July stimulus package and publish it this afternoon. The package will, of course, require debate in the House, including legislation next week. Until the decision is made by Cabinet I cannot reveal the contents of it but all of the matters that Deputies have raised will be considered.

Deputy Boyd Barrett asked what is a stimulus. Stimulus is the Government pumping money into the economy. That is exactly what we are doing. We will pump about €30 billion into the economy this year. The stimulus package is only part of that. We are taking in about €50 billion in taxes and spending €80 billion. Therefore, €30 billion is being pumped into the economy. That is a stimulus. The plan was to end the wage subsidy scheme and the pandemic unemployment payment around 10 August but that will now not be the case. They will be extended and there will be a further stimulus but we will set out how they will be phased out because they cannot last forever. People appreciate that. The best way to help people is to get them back to work, not to keep them on welfare forever, which is very different type of policy that I do not support.

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