Workers are to begin transitioning from the €350 pandemic unemployment payment to the normal jobseeker’s rate of €203 a week from June. 

That’s according to a report in the Examiner this morning, which says that Troika-style budget controls have been slapped on the biggest government departments such as health, education and social protection as part of a need to cut an estimated €12bn from State spending.  

But is this approach fair to people who are still feeling the economic effects of more than a year of lockdown?

Bríd Smith, People Before Profit TD for Dublin South Central, joined Kieran on the show to discuss the subject.