Austerity is 'not inevitable' after the pandemic, the Finance Minister has said.
Paschal Donohoe says the country "will come out the other side" of the current crisis, and it will be possible to grow the economy again.
He was speaking after the latest Exchequer returns show the country’s deficit rose to just over €14 billion in February, amid continued closures of large sectors of the economy and increased Government spending.
VAT receipts are down 13% when compared to this time last year, while social protection spending was up €1.8 billion year-on-year
On Newstalk Breakfast, Minister Donohoe said Ireland "will beat" COVID-19.
He said: “What will happen at the other side of it then is we will looking to rebuild employment and our economy.
"Much of what is happening in the Exchequer figures… is driven by the programmes we have in place, like our Employer Wage Subsidy Scheme, that are all about trying to preserve and help employers during this time of crisis."
Asked if the current debt levels mean a period of austerity is inevitable post-pandemic, Minister Donohoe said: “There’s nothing inevitable about that.
"The reason why we’re able to do what we can do at the moment is we went into this crisis with our national finances and economy very well run, in good shape. We have received exceptional support from the Central Bank.
“If we can get our economy growing again - which we will be able to do, mainly because of the measures we have in place at the moment - we will be able to, over time, pay for much of the cost we have now accrued."
The Finance Minister said the Government would need to generate ways to pay for a permanently larger State - however, he said that's "a number of steps ahead of us".
Minister Donohoe was speaking as the head of the HSE said there are 'reasons to be very hopeful' as COVID-19 hospitalisations continue to fall.
