Finance ministry asks House for additional €102 million

The finance ministry has asked parliament to green-light an additional €102 million in government spending to deal with the continuing economic impact of the Covid situation and the fallout from the war in Ukraine.

The supplementary budget request to parliament, submitted as a bill, was filed earlier this week, after getting the nod from the cabinet.

According to the finance ministry, the €102 million in extra spending this year will set back the budget balance by 0.4 per cent of Gross Domestic Product.

Justifying the request, the ministry said that due to the ongoing Covid situation government departments have had to take a range of actions that require additional funds.

Of the €71.5 million being requested to deal with Covid, €53 million concerns the health ministry; €5.7 million in financial support to airlines for the period July to December 2021; and €10 million for any extra unforeseen expenses occurring during the second quarter of the year, such as hospitality services for persons testing positive for the coronavirus.

Beyond that, the finance ministry wants €30 million to deal with needs arising from the conflict in Ukraine. This includes €18 million for the purchase, storage and management of wheat and corn reserves; €5 million for hospitality and support to Ukrainian refugees; €7.6 million in financial assistance to farmers, necessary due to soaring prices of animal feed.