Paschal Donohoe, Irish Finance Minister, has warned the public that the large budgetary deficit the country is facing in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic will have to be addressed at some point.
While Donohoe predicted the deficit will amount to €23.5, warning that the figure may increase as the crisis progresses, some experts project the number could be closer to €30 billion.
“I said that in the basis of decisions that I expect we would be making in the coming weeks and on the basis of bills that are now coming in because of public health decisions that have to be made. I did indicate with you a few weeks ago that I did expect that it will grow considerably behind beyond that, and that is happening at the moment,” Donohoe stated in an interview with Newstalk Breakfast.
“The costs of borrowing are real and one of the issues that both the Taoiseach and I have looked to address over the last number of days, is just to make the case, is that in the run in to this crisis we reduced our borrowing, we got to a point that we were actually in a budget surplus,” Donohoe adds.
