The Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is 'a lot worse' than the Government thought.
He also said the recovery which was hoped for in 2021 is looking less certain.
He told The Pat Kenny Show: "I think, to be frank, the economic impact is going to be a lot worse than you or I may have thought back in March or April, or even what the Government was formed.
"Back in March or April if you'd asked me I would have said that this was going to be a three month phenomenon, a single quarter severe hit to the economy and that we would be in a very strong recovery by next year.
"That now looks less certain.
"And we're seeing the pattern from all over the world that the virus hasn't gone away, that it will come back and come back to a certain extent.
"That is going to have a serious impact on the economy.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar tells @PatKennyNT that the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is 'a lot worse' than the Government thought. pic.twitter.com/WTmu2cwLsa
— NewstalkFM (@NewstalkFM) August 10, 2020
"That unfortunately is the truth of it, but Government is here to try to save as many businesses as we can and try to save as many jobs as we can.
"That why we're pumping about €30bn worth of money into the economy this year - borrowed money, but it's right to borrow that money so that we can ensure that as many businesses as possible survive and that as many people can stay in employment - at least until we get through this".
"What the best modelling would suggest at the moment is [that] we've had the one big wave, if you like, which was the first wave.
"And what we'll see now is a series of mini waves, at least until we get to the point where we've established herd immunity - either through vaccine or through exposure - at some point in the future".
On the issue of workers awaiting coronavirus test results going back into factories, he said: "Anybody who is symptomatic, anybody who has been told to stay away from work because they're a close contact, for example, is entitled to the Enhanced Illness Payment.
"That's something we did a long time ago at the very start of this pandemic, we introduced an enhanced illness benefit payment for people so that they wouldn't fear loss of income - and that's €350 a week.
"But I think sometimes that information doesn't always come across, or maybe particularly if some of the workers - if English isn't their first language - maybe they're not hearing the messages in the same way.
"Perhaps we need to do a better job there of providing information in different languages".
But he added: "If somebody has COVID-19 of course they shouldn't got to work.
"If we say to people that if you're asymptomatic, you shouldn't go to work: that's everyone in the country.
"If you had the test because you had symptoms, yes of course you should stay at home.
"If you are a close contact of somebody who's tested positive, yes of course you should stay at home.
"But if you're having a test for other reasons, then it is different".
"There is a big difference between somebody who has no symptoms and has not been in close contact with somebody who tested positive, and somebody who does have symptoms or has been.
In terms of clusters at meat factories, Mr Varadkar said people should not be finger-pointing.
"One thing I do regret that is seeping into the discussions and the debate in Ireland in the last few weeks which wasn't there before is this kind of culture of blaming.
"Whether it's young people or American tourists or migrant workers or a particular business: you can do everything right... and still you could find that your shop or your workplace becomes a cluster.
"I think we need to be careful not to be finger-pointing or blaming people without real evidence that somebody has been negligent or is to blame in some way".
