Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The European digital green certificate is due to come into operation on 19 July. It is a moving issue on which a significant number of people anxiously wait for news of its delivery To keep people updated, will the Taoiseach tell the House whether the timelines will be met? Will it be paper-based? When will these start to be posted out? Will it be Monday? I will not hold him to it but what percentage of people does he expect will have them next week, before 19 July? There will be issues, but does he predict that a large number of people will receive them next week?

My next question relates to long Covid at European level. In late 2020, the UK's National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, NICE, published guidelines on and recommendations for long Covid care. On 6 May, the European Commission announced plans to back a new generation of improved Covid treatments, especially for people suffering long Covid. Was this considered by the European Council? This is an issue that will have to dealt with on an ongoing basis. The longer-term health impacts have been completely underestimated. Has this been acknowledged at European level? Has there been discussion on what will be done about it and about treatments? How will it even be defined? This is an entirely new issue. Has it been recognised and discussed at European level?

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