Vital staff get money they need

THE 400,000 or so workers on the Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme will welcome the Finance Minister’s pledge that the payments will continue.

This innovative measure has not only helped people keep their jobs, it has also prevented thousands of firms from going under.

The fact is these companies would not now be in business if they had to pay their workers their normal wage.

In short, this and other schemes has prevented an economic catastrophe for the workers involved and the country as a whole.

It should also not be forgotten that at the end of last month there were 439,000 people receiving the €350-a-week Pandemic Unemployment Payment.

When the 225,600 staff who were already on the Live Register are added to these combined figures it means well over a million people are depending on the State for all or part of their income.

The huge sums involved in supporting these schemes is weighing heavily on State finances but there are few other options available.

To discontinue any of these programmes would result in unemployment on a scale never seen before in this country, which in turn would plunge the economy into a deep recession.

Large-scale borrowing might be necessary but, in the national interest and the workers involved, it is vital these programmes continue.