Govt announces €3.7bn package to 'give confidence to employers to retain workers' after Covid-19 epidemic

A multi-billion euro wage package will see the government pay up to €410 a week of wages while workers and the self-employed who have lost jobs from the virus will also see payments increased.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe said that the emergency wage measures were designed to try and keep people in jobs to avoid even worse economic difficulties in future.