John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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899. To ask the Minister for Health if she intends to extend the Covid payment scheme beyond June 2025; the number in receipt of the payment; and her views on a once-off payment in each case where the person intends to retire. [16733/25]

Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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907. To ask the Minister for Health the consultations or actions her Department has taken with regard to the extension of the temporary scheme of paid leave for public health service employees unit for work post Covid-19 infection, which is due to expire by 30 June 2025; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16787/25]

Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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908. To ask the Minister for Health if she plans to extend the temporary scheme of paid leave for public health service employees for work post Covid-19 infection beyond 30 June 2025, for HSE staff with long-Covid; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16788/25]

Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 899, 907 and 908 together.

In the public health sector, a temporary Special Scheme was put in place for 12 months in July 2022 to support eligible staff who were impacted by Long-Covid. At the request of my Department, approval to extend the Special Scheme was granted by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP and Reform (DPENDPR) a number of times, most recently at the end of June 2024 when it was extended for a further 12 months on the existing terms for the existing cohort of employees already being supported by it.

The Department of Public Expenditure, NDP and Reform (DPENDPR) have been very clear that this was the final extension that would be granted, and as such, the Special Scheme will conclude on 30th June 2025.

Any employee of the public health sector remaining unwell beyond that date, may utilise the full provisions of the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme which will provide further support.

The Public Service Sick Leave Scheme provides full pay for three months, followed by half pay for three months, and after that, Temporary Rehabilitative Remuneration may be applied for, which, if granted, provides up to a further 547 days of paid leave. The Critical Illness Protocol that forms part of the Public Service Sick Leave Scheme may also provide additional supports if granted.

The eligibility criteria set when the Special Scheme was first introduced were designed to ensure that employees supported by the Special Scheme included those working in a COVID exposed environment in the period before PPE and vaccinations were readily available, and before community transmission became more prevalent.

Data provided by the HSE indicates that a total of 166 employees across the HSE and Section 38 bodies are in receipt of the support of the Special Scheme. This same cohort of employees were in receipt of support via DPER's Special Leave with Pay prior to the introduction of the Special Scheme. Combined, these schemes have provided this cohort with up to 5 years support in total to date.

Those on the Special Scheme are required to be reviewed by the team of Occupational Health Physicians on a quarterly basis. The HSE have advised that the OHPs have determined that almost all employees being supported by the Special Scheme have an expectation of returning to the workplace in due course, with only a very limited number of employees (less than 10) being recommended at OHP review to explore ill-health retirement in line with existing policies.

It was not possible, nor would it have been appropriate to provide access to the Special Scheme to all employees of the public health service who contracted COVID, as the contraction of COVID is a public health issue, and not an occupational issue, and as it is not possible to separate with absolute certainty, those who contracted COVID in the workplace from those who contracted COVID generally.

Further to this, my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection has reviewed the EU recommendation in respect of the recognition of Covid (not long Covid) as an occupational illness, however she has determined that Covid does not meet the criteria required for recognition in respect of the Social Welfare Acts.