Donohoe: Important to get balance right when reopening the country
Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has said it was important to get the balance right between reopening the economy and reducing the spread of Covid-19.
It was vital that when decisions were made about the reopening of the country, such changes were made on the basis of evidence he told Newstalk Breakfast.
That was the approach that would be taken with regard to the reopening of schools, he added.
Mr Donohoe later told RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland that he believed the government would get the balance right and that was why a phased return was being implemented to allow time between phases to measure the impact on society.
The government believed it could get people back to work while continuing efforts to contain the virus, but he said the risks would remain for some time.
Time to engage with stakeholders to explain the risks and work to implement safety guidelines was important said Mr Donohoe.
That was why a phased return was important to give time to understand the impact on the public health.
Mr Donohoe added that the health of construction workers was important which was why the government had engaged intensively with the construction industry to ensure there was clarity about the new guidelines so they could be implemented and monitored in the coming weeks.
It was vital to understand the consequences, he said.
When asked about how long the current pandemic payment would continue, Mr Donohoe said that government has not yet made a decision about an extension to the payment.
Evaluations will have to be made about what the government might be able to offer in the future, he said.
“We want to recognise the strain and worry that people are experiencing and to assure them we will try to keep jobs.”
The level of intervention now in place had been enabled by the great care taken of the public finances in recent years, he said.
As soon as the government understands how the economy is responding it will better understand the economic consequences of the pandemic payments, he said.
“We want to see the effect of the reopening first.”
The government was working night and day on a situation that changed daily, he added.
“We can’t guarantee that we will get everything right, but we are doing the best we can do.”
Mr Donohoe also said there was no guarantee that a new government will be formed by the end of the month. “We (Fine Gael) are doing all we can do.”
It was important to get the country back to work and in order to do that a stable government needed to be in place, he said.
