Dr. Sharon McGuinness:

I thank the Deputy for her question. The pre-2016 regulations were introduced when we amended the general applications regulations for the purposes of the reporting of accidents and incidents. At the time occupational illnesses were not included as part of the definition of "personal injury". One reason for that was that we introduced the amendment to put a stronger emphasis on the reporting of accidents and incidents at that time and made sure that people reported them to us so that the regulation had that particular driver.

At the same time, there was no defined list of occupational illnesses at national or European level. In terms of the intention of the board when it reviewed the regulatory impact analysis at the time and made the recommendations to the Minister regarding the legislation, it was felt that without a defined list, it would be difficult for employers to identify with any degree of certainty an occupational illness. The key point regarding personal injury and the definitions used in the Act is that they must be attributable to work. It is not simply the case that somebody has an occupational illness; it has to be attributable to work. That is a key factor in that regard.

Part of the current regulatory impact analysis involves an option that might include an amendment to section 224 of the 2016 regulations. We are examining that, and that could come forward in due course. It would require reporting. However, the challenge will still remain as to whether an employer can, with any degree of certainty, confirm that Covid-19 was caught by a worker in a workplace and attributable to the work activity that was going on. That remains a challenge if the legislation is changed or that definition is introduced.

We get notice of all of the cases and outbreaks of Covid in workplaces. We are part of a number of outbreak control teams established by public health. Ultimately, public health manages an outbreak and we are there to support and guide. While there is an absolute priority for worker health and safety, and the protection of that, when there is an outbreak we are very much mindful of that. Equally, it is important to manage an outbreak because we do not want the disease to move out to the community. There is a higher public health requirement. I hope that answers the Deputy's question.