The Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe is meeting with bank bosses to see how they can assist people financially impacted by COVID-19.

It is expected a suspension of mortgage and business loan repayments will be part of the agreement.

The heads of AIB, Bank of Ireland, KBC, Ulsterbank and Permanent TSB are sitting down with Minister Donohoe.

The banks have come together to agree measures to help their customers who have been financially impacted by the spread of the coronavirus.

A view of the Central Bank building in Dublin city | Image: Central Bank

It is expected that the banks will agree to a three-month freeze on loan repayments for struggling businesses and mortgage holders, whose income has been reduced due to the outbreak.

Following the meeting, it is also expected to be confirmed that the €30 contactless limit will be increased to €50 to help people avoid cash.

However this measure will take time to introduce and may not be in place until the end of the month.

On Newstalk Breakfast earlier Fergal O’Brien form the business group IBEC said the economic fallout from the outbreak will be on a level with the bank bailout – and said the Government needs to treat it as seriously.

“I think we need to move into that space,” he said. “That is the scale of what is required.”

“If we do that, it could be a very, very different crisis. We can come out of this quickly if we do the right things.

“We need to keep the essential parts of the economy moving.”

“The Minister for Housing needs to let renters know where they stand in the eye of this crisis. Many people are rightly worried that a loss of income at this time will lead to a loss of their home" @DuncanSmithTD has called for an emergency rent freeze https://t.co/JMjdLX0tJb pic.twitter.com/qcM0DOfdkc

— The Labour Party (@labour) March 17, 2020

Meanwhile, the Labour Party is calling for an emergency rent freeze and ban on evictions during the pandemic.

Labour TD Duncan Smith said he will be asking for the protections to be passed at an emergency sitting of the Dáil tomorrow.

He said the COVID-19 crisis could see many tenants struggling to pay the rent in the coming weeks and warned that allowing them to be evicted with nowhere to go would be disastrous – both for them and for wider public health.

Fianna Fáil is calling for all commercial rates to be suspended – along with utility bills on business premises.

It is also urging landlords to waive commercial rents for a minimum of three months.

Additional reporting: Kacey O'Riordan