Paschal Donohoe: Ireland to get €853m from EU rescue fund later this year

Chairman of Eurogroup finance minister says slice is 'fair share' of fund, as numbers on PUP near 460,000 this week

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said Ireland will get its "fair share" of the EU's Covid recovery fund and will receive it in the second half of this year.

Ireland will receive its initial €853m share of the EU’s Covid-19 recovery fund in the second half of this year, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said.

The minister’s update on the fund came as new figures showed a 15% increase in weekly recipients of the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP), with almost 460,000 people in line for the payment this week.

Speaking ahead of a meeting of the Eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, of which he is president and chairman, Mr Donohoe said the Government will be formally submitting Ireland’s application for its tranche of the EU fund in the coming weeks.

He said he expects Ireland to receive its initial payment during the second half of the year.

Ireland stands to receive €853m from the first 70% of the EU’s €673bn Recovery and Resilience Facility. The remaining 30% is set to be allocated in 2023 when Ireland will be in line for an estimated additional €75m in funds.

Mr Donohoe said Ireland is getting its “fair share” from the fund.

“That is the fair share of the fund that we are entitled to on the basis of our share of the European economy,” he said. 

It reflects the fact that we’re able to fund the response to many of these difficulties ourselves and is calculated in an independent way.

He said his role as Eurogroup president includes making sure the right policies are in place within the EU. He said he believes they are.

Mr Donohoe said the money will be used to fund programmes aimed at digitalising and greening the Irish economy, which will help people get back to work.

"The European response to Covid-19 has shown the power and potential of co-operative action. It is now time to build the strong and equitable recovery our citizens need, and, beyond that, deliver the sustainable green and digital-focused European economy of tomorrow," he said.

Ahead of the Eurogroup meeting, Mr Donohoe said EU countries are likely to have to continue borrowing heavily for the next 12 months at least.

The National Treasury Management Agency has raised €5.5bn in debt since the turn of the year and plans to borrow €16bn-€20bn this year, following on from raising around €24bn last year.

Meanwhile, new figures from the Department of Social Protection show that almost 460,000 people will receive the PUP this week, 15% more than last week. 

The total has been boosted by the inclusion of many construction workers after building sites were shut down this month as part of the latest restrictions.

Social Protection Minister Heather Humphreys said the latest PUP figures are “a stark reminder” of the impact Covid-19 is having on the country’s workforce.

"The last time we had this level of claims for PUP was in June 2020 as the country was beginning to emerge from the initial period of restrictions last summer,” she said.

More than 820,000 people have availed of the PUP support, with the total cost of the scheme topping €5.3bn to date.

Ms Humphreys said the Government remains committed to supporting impacted workers.