I’ll unlock early if I can and it WILL cost us
»»Varadkarsays next steps will be guided by medics »»Turbulenttimes ahead for economy warns Taoiseach
LEO Varadkar yesterday promised to speed up the road out of the lockdown – if he can.
The Taoiseach admitted that “of course” the Government may have been too cautious with the draconian restrictions introduced over the past 10 weeks.
And he announced his next national address when he can reveal another step towards a return to normality will be on June 5.
But Mr Varadkar said that no matter how we get out of lockdown, it’s going to cost us tens of billions of euro which we’ll have to borrow on the international markets – and it won’t be cheap down the tracks.
The Taoiseach warned: “There is no such thing as free money.”
Mr Varadkar also acknowledged the “issue of secondary deaths”, where people are dying from causes other than coronavirus, could be on the rise because of the lockdown.
He said the social and economic impact of the strict measures must be considered too.
The Taoiseach was being interviewed on Newstalk Breakfast yesterday when he was asked if he was “keen, if possible, to fast-track the phases” out of lockdown.
He responded: “Yes. But if, and only if, the data says it is safe to do so. We’re very much reliant on the CMO [Chief Medical Officer] and NPHET [National Public Health Emergency Team] to be in charge of the data.
“But I’m conscious that in other countries, albeit countries that went into the crisis before we did, that they’re opening up.
“In Italy and Spain, outdoor bars and terraces are opening and wouldn’t we all love to have that opportunity this weekend.”
Mr Varadkar was then asked if he thought we were perhaps being “too cautious” in the easing of restrictions.
He replied: “Of course, I mean we’re always conscious of this whole issue of secondary deaths, people who don’t die with Covid but die of a consequence of some of the decisions to get Covid under control.
“That’s the late diagnosis of cancers for example, it’s people not going to hospital when they’ve chest pain or they’ve symptoms of stroke and potentially dying as a result, so we worry about that all the time. Mental health impacts too and of course the longer this goes on the more severe the impact is on the economy.”
The Taoiseach spoke in the Dail yesterday afternoon about how much it will cost to get Ireland out of recession.
His words of warning came a day after Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe revealed we are staring into a coronavirus economic black hole of €30billion this year.
That is up €7billion from the minister’s estimate just four weeks ago when he last updated the Dail.
Mr Varadkar said: “I think we all agree that substantial borrowing by the State will be necessary to cushion the blow to our economy and society.
“We will have a very substantial budget deficit this year and a deficit in the Exchequer borrowing requirement for several years to come, leading to increased national debt.
“We will use this borrowed money, first, to provide income support for those who have lost their jobs.
“Second, to get businesses open again. Third, to provide retraining and educational opportunities for our fellow citizens who are now without employment.
€30bn
Economic black hole Ireland is facing this year due to pandemic
And, fourth, to stimulate economic activity through investment in public housing, healthcare, childcare, transport, regional development, renewable energy and retrofit, as well as the intelligent use of tax policies to stimulate economic activity.
“We should continue to borrow until the economy returns to sustained growth. From then on we should seek to reduce borrowing and our deficit and to achieve a broadly balanced budget again within a few years. We do not need to be the best boys in the fiscal class but we should seek to run deficits similar to those of our peers in northern Europe, not much larger ones.
“This is a sensible and sustainable thing to do. Borrowed money, debt, has to be serviced, that is, the interest on it must be paid every year.
“This will be a new and recurring charge on our public finances and it will have to paid.”
Other issues raised in the Dail included childcare provision and the exclusion of women from the wage subsidy scheme when returning from maternity benefit.
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou Mcdonald said the radical childcare proposals that would see “pods” in creches are “completely unfit for purpose”. She added it was “completely unfair” some women are being excluded from the welfare payments.
I think we all agree substantial borrowing by the State will be necessary
LEO VARADKAR
THE DAIL YESTERDAY