The new Government should be in no rush to cut back on the Covid-19 public unemployment supports needed by around one million people and need not overly worry about the build-up of sovereign debt, at this stage of the crisis. The reassuring message for the new coalition comes from Ben Westmore, who heads up the Ireland desk at the Organisation for Economic and Co-operation and Development. With low-interest rates likely to be sustained, the debt dynamics in Ireland look likely to make an increase in sovereign debt manageable. On the stimulus package, he said the OECD was agnostic between measures such as governments providing 100% credit guarantees or taking equity stakes in companies. Delaying temporarily the increase in the State pension age may be required, but an ageing Irish population will require reforms at a later stage, he said.

Source: Irish Examiner June 29, 2020 17:15 UTC