Support payments to continue for businesses forced to remain closed in lockdown - Taoiseach

Micheál Martin said his government will have to look at new initiatives to help the hospitality sector as it emerges from Covid-19 because it has suffered more than most. Picture: Dan Linehan

Support payments will continue for those businesses and sectors forced to remain closed during the extended lockdown, the Taoiseach has assured.

Michéal Martin made the comment as he confirmed that level 5-type restrictions will remain in place beyond March 5 with the government adopting an extremely cautious approach towards reopening the economy over the next two months while the vaccine programme is being rolled out.

He was asked directly if he could say when the hospitality sector, including hotels, pubs, cafes and restaurants, and personal services businesses like hairdressers could reopen.

“I don’t right now have a date (to reopen) to be honest with you,” he said.

“I think we would have to have a critical mass of the population vaccinated.” But he said the various business supports will continue.

“We will not be pulling the rug from any of those supports, there will be no cliff-edge in relation to the supports ranging from pandemic unemployment support to others,” he said.

"That is very important to state.

"That is part of the response to Covid-19 and we discussed it at an economic Cabinet sub-committee last week."

We had €5.5bn prepared as a contingency fund for Covid-19 — we did not anticipate that we would be using it so quickly or so extensively in the first number of months of this year but, as it transpired, we are.

"In terms of hospitality, when we come out of Covid-19 — and we will come out of it — there will not be a magic day when you can say that is the end of Covid-19 and the beginning of a new era.

"We will evolve out of this — we will get more comfortable and confident as we vaccinate the population," Mr Martin said.

“We are going to have to help the hospitality sector to reboot and restart.

"We will have to look at new initiatives to help the hospitality sector as it emerges from Covid-19 because it has suffered more than most.

"Because if we have learned anything the virus and hospitality are too compatible.

“We have to acknowledge that and equally acknowledge that there are thousands and thousands of jobs dependent on it.

"We want to keep as many enterprises in hospitality intact as we possibly can.

“That will mean continuing the existing supports and thinking about what more we can do to support the hospitality sector in coming out of Covid-19."