More state debt needed to fund PUP past June, says Varadkar

Tánaiste tells Fine Gael TDs that the government needs to borrow more money to pay for further extensions to the pandemic supports

Leo Varadkar told Fine Gael TDs at their parliamentary party last week that the government would need to borrow more money to pay for further extensions to the pandemic supports beyond the current cut-off date of June 30

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has told Fine Gael TDs that the government will need to borrow more money to fund the extension of key pandemic supports beyond the summer.

The government had set aside €5.5 billion in the budget to help pay for possible extensions to the wage subsidy scheme, the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) and the grants to businesses shut down under lockdown restrictions.

However, the combined cost of the paying the PUP for 443,000 ...