The report came out after Aer Lingus said it was to halve pay for its near 5,000 staff due to the sharp drop in travel due to the coronavirus. The State’s GDP was €340bn in 2019 so that would equate to a total package of €34bn if the 10pc figure was implemented. At present, the Government has put in spending plans worth €3bn which includes up to €2.4bn in income support for workers. The Ibec numbers are based on a period of 20 weeks disruption and average net wage of €600 per week amongst impacted workers. Germany, for example, has put together a package worth almost 20pc of its economic output versus 0.9pc here, the Ibec report said.

Source: Irish Independent March 20, 2020 15:00 UTC