The cash support payment for those laid-off due to the Covid-19 outbreak will be increased to €350 per week.
The Government will also pay 70% of a worker's salary up to a cap of €410 a week, or €38,000 per year, for companies affected by the pandemic.
The new measures were announced by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe at a Government briefing this evening.
Mr Donohoe told the press conference that action must be taken now "to avoid an even greater economic challenge in the future"
New payment measures
- a temporary wage subsidy of 70% of take home pay up to a maximum weekly tax free amount of €410 per week to help affected companies keep paying their employees. This is the equivalent of €500 per week before tax;
- workers who have lost their jobs due to the crisis will receive an enhanced emergency Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €350 per week (an increase from €203);
- the Covid-19 illness payment will also be increased to €350 per week;
- Self-Employed will be eligible for the Covid-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment of €350 directly from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (rather than the Revenue scheme);
- enhanced protections for people facing difficulties with their mortgages, rent or utility bills;
Chief medical officer Tony Holohan said the measures have had to be stepped up due to the fact more than 1,000 cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the Republic
He said: "44% per cent of the cases have been community transmission where we have not been able to identify the original source through contact tracing and one in four of the cases are healthcare workers.
"We need to move rapidly, comprehensively and quickly. That is why we have stepped up the measures."
The Taoiseach said he does not want to describe the new measures in the Republic of Ireland as a "lockdown".
"I wouldn't use the term lockdown. It is a term that causes a lot more confusion than clarity and is therefore one that I don't intend to use.
"I heard Italy was in lockdown but then factories and construction sites are still open."
You can follow all the very latest updates from today's breaking coronavirus news on our live blog here.
