Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe has defended the Government’s mandatory quarantine plans saying they were “really significant” and it had been “really important” to put them in place.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Morning Ireland, the Minister said the measures were necessary, but that they would be kept under review in case there was a need to strengthen them as “our hospitals and our health workers continue to be dealing with difficult circumstances.”
When asked about the reported division within cabinet over the mandatory quarantine measures, Mr Donohoe said that while there had been “a lot of debate” on the issue, he believed what had been introduced “will be enough.”
The Minister said he did not know what the cost of the quarantine measures would be as it would take a number of weeks to put the system in place. However, he anticipated that the cost would be “in the low figures.”
On the issue of the row over supply of the AstraZeneca vaccine, Mr Donohoe said he thought the European Commission was taking the right approach.
He added that while having less of the drug would be a setback, the Government still expected to have 1.1 million vaccines available and to complete the target of vaccinating all the over-65s, care home residents and front line workers by the end of March.
Covid-19 has had a “profound impact” on the Irish economy, the Minister said in advance of the publication of the annual debt report. The impact will continue for years to come and the levels of unemployment will have an impact on the ability of the economy to grow.
But the Minister was confident that the country would not get to that point because of the robust position the economy had been prior to the pandemic and supports from the EU. “The level of debt will be sustainable.”
A Commission of Taxation will advise the Government on the options of “how to pay in the future”. There were many bridges to cross “before we begin to get to that point.”
