Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This woman told me that she is on a couple of new drugs which are used to address long Covid and which cost more than €100 a month. Neither of these drugs is covered by the drug payment scheme. For people who are out of work and cannot afford such drugs, this really is crippling. It can be equally difficult for those in receipt of sick pay who are likely to have other outgoings such as mortgages, rents, etc. I know the Minister is not responsible for health but he is the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and the power of the purse lies with him. These people are suffering from long Covid. This is a woman who worked on the front line in the public sector but several young women who have been out of work have come to me on this issue. They may have been the main breadwinner in their relationship and they are now really struggling. It is an issue that we will encounter more and more and we really need to tackle it now.

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