Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 24 November 2021

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

General Scheme of the Sick Leave Bill 2021: Discussion (Resumed)

Dr. Laura Bambrick:

It think it is done every two years. I will check that. There may have been a time lag in doing one. The figures I quoted are from 2019, when those data were collected. There may have been a delay because of Covid-19 because of the way those data are collected. Unlike the financial crash, during Covid-19 we have not seen a big increase in the number of applicants for medical and GP cards. That is to do with how comparatively generous our Covid income supports were. Even if one was in receipt of a pandemic unemployment payment, one was still not eligible because that €250 level would have pushed one over the income allowance even if one was not in a low income household or was living with other people.