Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)

I appreciate what the Deputy is saying. I will make a couple of points in response. The public health sector recognised the risk that staff faced and because of that introduced a scheme that no other sector had.

It was appropriate that it did, but it is important to state that so people have a full understanding of what was done. Eligible healthcare workers have had full pay for five years, which is important. The provisions now provide paid supports for a number of years beyond this current period. Recognition of Covid as an occupational illness falls within the Department of Social Protection. The Deputy has alluded to other EU countries. Many EU countries recognised Covid-19 as an occupational illness, but not necessarily long Covid. I am open to correction, but it is not clear to me that any country sustained full pay for workers suffering from long Covid in the way Ireland did with its public health workers through the special scheme. I am open to correction, but that is the information I have. It is important to set out how Ireland tried to treat its care workers in contrast to Europe and for the duration it has.

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