The Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has expressed hope that Ireland’s looming recession will not result in another era of austerity.
Mr Varadkar said the relatively good state of the economy going into the sharp downturn triggered by coronavirus would help make the recovery less painful than it was following the crash of the Celtic Tiger in 2008.
The deaths of another 13 patients with Covid-19 in the country were announced today, bringing the total number of deaths to 98.
There were 402 new cases of coronavirus confirmed, with the total number now at 3,849.
Unemployment has soared to 17% in just a month, with almost 300,000 people claiming the new Covid-19 unemployment benefit.
The total number of unemployed now sits at around 500,000.
Tax receipts plummeted in March and are set to fall further in April.