Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As I said, the Cabinet sub-committee on economic recovery will be meeting in the next number of days to discuss the national economic recovery plan. Part of that plan will focus on the digital transformation and jobs in the new green economy. It will also be focusing in on the medium-term framework for particular sectors that have suffered more than most as a result of the pandemic and factors relating to it. That means evolving the supports towards the second half of the year and a proper targeting of those supports to facilitate growth because we want to facilitate people to get back to work in the different sectors as safely and as securely as we possibly can.

If one thinks of what has happened over the past number of months, construction has come back. Retail now has come back. Our schools are reopened for quite some time and our childcare has reopened. This plan is working and we have managed to keep the pressure on the virus whilst rolling out the vaccination programme. That is our intention and we are mindful of protecting people and businesses and jobs to the optimal degree that we possibly can as a Government.

See this speech in context