ALMOST €7 BILLION has been set aside for Covid spending next year, according to the Government’s Summer Economic Statement, published this evening.

It also said that Budget 2022 will have an “expenditure ceiling of €88.2 billion”, but that €80.1 billion in non-Covid related expenditure will be spent in 2022 – an increase of 5.5%.

The Summer Economic Statement (SES) also forewarns the lifting of pandemic-related welfare supports, stating that the Government will not “impede change”:

“As supports are withdrawn, the fog will begin to lift on which firms and sectors are viable in the ‘new normal’. For workers in firms and sectors that are no longer viable, the policy focus will shift to re-skilling so that these workers can transition to viable sectors.”

Ireland’s deficit is expected to be €7.4 billion by the mid-part of this decade, and that from 2023 onwards, the State will be borrowing “only to finance for capital expenditure”.

On a per capita basis, public debt stands at just under €44,000 per person in 2020, one of the highest levels in the world. The Government said in its statement that it will continue to borrow over the medium-term, so that the level of debt will rise further.

Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe said: “By 2023, we will borrow only for capital investment, which is being ramped up to provide for, among other things, significant additions to the housing stock.”

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath said core expenditure will grow by just over 5% on average over the period to 2025 – an amount which he said was “prudent, sustainable and consistent with our plan to reduce the deficit in an orderly manner”.

“Over the next four years, we will spend almost €50 billion on vital infrastructure.”

The statement, which is published each July, sets out how much money the government has to spend in the next Budget – on the likes of new transport systems, housing, and improved health services.