COVID-19 UPDATE: 14 new cases of virus in Kilkenny, ‘300,000 will be out of work for years to come’
Fourteeen new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded locally since the beginning of the week.
The number of coronavirus cases in Kilkenny has risen to 291, according to the latest county-by-county breakdown of Covid-19 figures.
Meanwhile, concerns at the economic fallout as a result of the pandemic were highlighted in a stark report this morning which said Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has privately warned unemployment levels could remain persistently high for years to come.
According to The Irish Independent, Minister Donohoe laid bare the fragile state of the country’s finances during government formation talks between the Fine Gael, Fianna Fáil and Green Party negotiating teams.
The parties were told unemployment could still be as high as 15pc by the end of the year and remain high in the coming years with key sectors hit by structural unemployment and unable to recover. With a total workforce of almost 2.4 million, this would equate to somewhere between 300,000 and 350,000 jobless.
PHOTO: Stock image
