Bríd Smith demands extension of long COVID pay scheme
Bríd Smith raised concerns in the Dáil about the Special Leave with Pay (SLWP) scheme for workers with long COVID, urging the Taoiseach to explain why it is ending on 30 June. She pressed that supports for health workers who became ill with long COVID should not be cut as the scheme expires.
Issue raised
Bríd Smith addressed the Taoiseach about the Special Leave with Pay (SLWP) scheme for long COVID, noting it was introduced in June 22 and is due to end on 30 June. She warned that from 1 July potentially hundreds of health workers could lose paid supports.
Scheme background
Smith said the SLWP scheme was put in place in June 22 to ensure health staff who were out sick with long COVID continued to receive pay. She emphasised that health workers in particular have had long periods of illness after stepping up during the pandemic.
Contrasting supports
She questioned why supports for workers with long COVID are being cut while financial COVID payments to businesses and companies remain in place, saying those business payments "possibly should have been cut long ago." Smith challenged the government to explain the difference in treatment.
Urgency and unions
Smith cited unions who describe the matter as urgent and warned there is little time to act before the scheme expires at the end of June. She asked the Taoiseach how the government proposes to proceed to avoid cutting supports for affected workers.
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Goe maagat, Cathaoirleach, Taoiseach, I want to raise with you the special leave with pay, the SLWP scheme for workers who are out sick with long COVID. Health workers in particular have had long periods of illness from COVID and a scheme was put in place in June 22 to ensure they got paid if they were out sick with long COVID. That's due to end now on the 30th of June. So from the 1st of July, potentially, hundreds of health workers who stepped up to the plate, who made sacrifices, who put themselves out there for all of us in the middle of the COVID pandemic, will be told that their supports are being cut. Can you please explain why that is going to happen when we are still giving financial supports to businesses and companies with COVID payments that possibly should have been cut long ago, but we're now going to cut the supports that we give to workers with long COVID, remembering how much we valued and should continue to value their frontline workers who did what they did during the worst pandemic. And how are we going to proceed with this? It's a matter of urgency, according to the unions, but we can see we're running out of time. This scheme is due to end on the 30th of June.
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