Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The word "debilitating" has been used in a few speeches. From the few people I have known, both through my office and in the community generally, who have suffered from long Covid, that is precisely the word. It has laid them completely low. It is quite a serious illness. Previously very energetic, active people who were very involved in the community struggle to get out of bed or maybe spend an hour or two out of bed and then return. That is the experience of complete exhaustion, flatness, mental fog, inability to concentrate and incredibly low energy and high fatigue. Obviously, that has huge implications for people's lives. Some employers are understanding but others are not. It has implications for parents trying to look after their children. It has implications for carers trying to look after the vulnerable and people who previously had responsibility not only in their work lives but also in their private lives. Long Covid has made that challenging. It lasts for a long time. Since we know so little about it, it is very difficult for people to be given answers and timelines from doctors that are so unclear. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel for these people? Some make a gradual recovery but some still suffer from long Covid quite some time later.

I also wish to flag the issues faced by those who almost certainly and realistically had Covid in the very early months of the pandemic but who could not get a PCR test because the system was completely overloaded. Some of those who are suffering from long Covid have found it very difficult to navigate the system because they did not have a positive PCR test, even though everything else pointed to their having long Covid. They have had difficulties.

I commend the work done by Deputy Naughten on this issue and on the motion, which Sinn Féin supports. A lot more is needed in respect of post-Covid and long Covid clinics. There are not enough of them.

I wish to raise another issue, one which Dr. John Lambert flagged to the health committee, namely, that long Covid is being viewed primarily as a respiratory issue. Obviously, there is a respiratory issue but there seems to be a clear neurological issue as well. The health system and the Government are not taking that sufficiently seriously.

Whether in respect of supports in work or in healthcare, an awful lot more needs to be done for those who are still suffering with long Covid.

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