Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is the first opportunity I have had to wish the Deputy Leader all the best in her new role. I have no doubt that she will be extremely successful in it. The exact number of people suffering with long Covid in this country is unknown, but HSE figures estimate that it is somewhere in the region of 1.8% to 8.3% of the population. Symptoms can be quite severe for some. We can all recall when Covid broke the dedication of our nurses, who went into hospitals to care for our sick, not knowing, first, the risk they put themselves in and, second, the risk to their families as well, but they did that without question.We rightly saluted them all at the time and still do today. That is why it was particularly heartbreaking when I met a lady, Fionnuala O'Brien, who was one of those nurses we applauded. She was totally dedicated to her work and an athlete but, unfortunately, because she contracted Covid, she is now medically retired. There is a special leave with pay scheme whereby nurses who contracted Covid can be compensated, rightly. Unfortunately, Fionnuala O'Brien's situation does not fit into that box. It is truly heartbreaking because this lady is suffering physically and psychologically. She struggles even to hold a conversation. To think as a State that we have designed this scheme that currently excludes this individual is truly heartbreaking and unforgivable. I ask at the first available opportunity that the Deputy Leader ask the Minister for Health to come to the House to discuss the whole area of long Covid, especially people like Fionnuala O'Brien who, through no fault of her own, just by going about her daily job, finds herself medically unfit to continue the profession she chose as her career and is now left on disability benefit from the State. I would be grateful if the Deputy Leader would organise that debate as soon as possible.