Trio of vaccines 'likely too late to save Irish jobs from level 5 damage'

Number of people on the Pandemic Unemployment Payment rose by 2,000 to 352,078 last week

'The risk is that people working in shops, pubs, restaurants, and hotels will be driven out of work for good,' says economist Jim Power.

The Government should learn from mistakes in using blunt restrictions to fight the Covid-19 pandemic because of the damage inflicted on many jobs this winter, even with news of a third successful vaccine, a senior analyst has warned. 

Economist Jim Power said the latest vaccine news from AstraZeneca could not come soon enough for the beleaguered Irish economy but he feared many jobs would not survive even if level 5 restrictions were to be eased next week.