Covid-19 (Taoiseach): Statements Dail Éireann — 2020-05-27 ============================================================ Richard Boyd Barrett (PBP), Dún Laoghaire The Taoiseach went way over time. The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, has talked about cutting and tapering the Covid payment, saying it is unsustainable. Deputy Rabbitte of Fianna Fáil has said that the payment is unfair and unsustainable. It is not. People who are earning multiples of the amount of the payment are suggesting it is unfair, unsustainable and needs to be cut. It is good if the Taoiseach is backtracking on that position but he should give a clear commitment to people such as Lisa, workers in the arts and retail sectors, taxi drivers and others who may face protracted periods where, through no fault of their own, they will not be able to get back to the amounts they were previously earning, or employment at all, that the Covid payment will not be cut for them. That is the commitment we need. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2020-05-27/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:48:19+00:00 Sitting date: 2020-05-27