Calls are being made for Covid-19 welfare supports to remain in place until at least Christmas.
Sinn Fein's request comes after the Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe indicated that the schemes cannot continue indefinitely.
Speaking in the Dail this afternoon, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said both the €350 unemployment payment and wage subsidy scheme will be extended beyond mid-June.
He said no decision has been made on how long it will last for or if there will be a rate reduction after next month.
Around 600,000 people are currently receiving the support.
However, Sinn Féin says the payments will still be needed in December by up to a quarter of a million people who have been impacted by the coronavirus.
The party's Finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty says "It’s not affordable to not continue to support people who have lost their jobs as a result of the pandemic. The idea that the government would be allowed to pull the safety net and reduce the income to households is not acceptable."
Deputy Doherty insists “We have to continue these supports, and crucially in the meantime what we need to do is significantly ramp up supports for businesses in the form of grants so that businesses will survive."
