James Cox
Ministers will receive an indication of the financial cost of Covid-19 at a Cabinet meeting this morning.
The update from Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe and Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath will forecast GDP growth of 4.5 per cent this year and 5 per cent next year.
But another metric, which the Government says is more reflective of the economy projects 2.5 per cent growth in 2021 — jumping to 7.5 per cent in 2022.
However, those totals are reliant on the roll-out of the vaccine.
Cabinet will also hear that the Covid-19 pandemic will have added €35 billion to the national debt by the end of the year.
After the update, Minister Donohoe will publish his Stability Programme Update (SPU), which must be submitted to the European Commission and European Council by the end of this month.
“This [the vaccination programme] is being significantly ramped up in the second quarter and should allow for a more significant but cautious easing of containment measures over the summer,” Mr Donohoe will tell ministers.
“This will allow for a substantive and sustainable recovery to begin.”
