Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I wish to respond on behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Stephen Donnelly. I thank Deputy Hourigan for raising this issue.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform introduced special Covid leave with pay for all Civil Service and public sector employees at the start of the pandemic to assist in preventing the onward spread of Covid in work premises. Currently, special Covid leave with pay applies for all cases for the duration of the self-isolation period only. Any periods of Covid-related illness which extend beyond the isolation period are treated as ordinary sick leave. A temporary 12-month scheme, specific to the public health service, was introduced to provide for paid leave for certain public health service employees who were unfit for work following a Covid infection. Employees who met the eligibility criteria for the scheme will have transferred to the scheme in July 2022. This temporary scheme, specific only to the public health sector, was introduced in recognition of the higher risk faced by certain public health service staff who were required to work on-site through the most challenging phases of the pandemic in clinically exposed Covid-19 environments.

It is our understanding that an epidemiological survey is planned by the HSE and will provide much needed insight into long Covid, which is not yet fully understood from a clinical perspective. The HSE has also commissioned a review by the Health Information and Quality Authority to assess the latest international evidence on long Covid. The EU Advisory Committee on Safety and Health at Work has recommended the recognition of Covid as an occupational illness in health and social care. However, member states vary in respect of their treatment of Covid in this regard. Officials from the Department of Health have met with officials from the Department of Social Protection who operate the national occupational injuries benefit scheme. The Department has indicated that Covid does not currently constitute a prescribed disease or illness as set out in the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005. I understand that the Department of Social Protection has committed to reviewing the EU committee recommendation in respect of the occupational recognition of Covid and to reporting back to the Select Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands on the matter.

As part of the Department's review, the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, has sought input from the Minister for Health in respect of the matter. The Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, has asked officials from the Department of Health to examine the options in respect of the recognition of Covid as an occupational illness in the public health service, with the intention of replying to the Minister for Social Protection on the matter without delay. The matter is currently under consideration.

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