Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her response and while I will not dwell on the other issue, I will make the point again.

In the past five months, there has been a 562% increase in long-term claimants as a result of long Covid. That is before we have had the impact of the Omicron variant, which is going to drive these figures significantly in excess of that level. The point I make is that, as a country, we cannot ignore what we are about to experience. We cannot ignore people with a disability, but this is something that is coming at us like a juggernaut. We are getting a heads-up in relation to it, and we cannot be seen to sit on our hands regarding it.