Welcome for €3.7bn wage-support scheme as questions remain amid Covid-19 economic crisis

The worst fears of the business owners and the tens of thousands of people they employed in cafes and the pubs and restaurants and retailers were realised as the shutters came down 10 days ago.

The Government’s new plan for an income-support or subsidy scheme is designed to help many more employers from shedding many more thousands of jobs in the coming weeks. The next few days will show whether the wave of job losses has been stemmed.