Ireland is expected to announce a recovery fund to deal with the twin economic threats of a disorderly Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic when it unveils its 2021 budget on Tuesday. Finance minister Paschal Donohoe will set out the Republic's spending scheme for next year at 1200 GMT in the Dail lower house of parliament. Citing "a senior government source," the Irish Times reported that a recovery fund worth between 4 billion euros ($4.7 billion) and 5 billion euros will be announced. Donohoe last month confirmed his 2021 budget will be based on the assumption that Brexit trade talks fail, with Britain reverting to World Trade Organization (WTO) terms in 2021. This "disorderly Brexit" has the potential to upend the Irish economy. The UK is Ireland's third largest exporting partner, according to 2018 figures from the nation's Central Statistics Office (CSO). Business chiefs fear that flow of trade may be stemmed with steep tariffs, burdening businesses already reeling from coronavirus restrictions. The Irish cabinet last week granted Donohoe approval to raid the nation's 1.5 billion euro ($1.77 billion) "rainy day fund" -- previously touted as a key economic buffer for Brexit -- for his budget. Donohoe said the funds will now be used "to remedy or mitigate the exceptional circumstances arising from Covid-19". Ireland has suffered around 1,800 deaths from the coronavirus. Virus restrictions -- which began with a nationwide lockdown in March -- have battered the economy. The finance ministry last month forecast the nation will have an annual average unemployment rate of 15.9 percent this year, more than three times the 2019 figure. 2020 GDP is expected to drop by 2.5 percent, with some coronavirus fallout offset by robust performance in the export sector, notably pharmaceuticals. jts/jwp/rl/je