Paul Murphy warns government over ending long Covid supports
Paul Murphy challenged the Taoiseach over recent government moves to withdraw Covid supports and to end remote-work arrangements for very high risk staff. He demanded recognition of long Covid as an occupational injury and urged the government to halt the withdrawal of paid long Covid leave from 1 July.
Long Covid supports ending
People still have Covid, still suffering the effects of long Covid, Murphy said, yet the government is acting as if Covid has gone away. He noted rising case and hospital numbers and weekly deaths, and criticised the decision to end long Covid leave or special leave with pay from 1 July and the refusal to recognise long Covid as an occupational injury.
Education guidance on remote work
Murphy highlighted a Department of Education circular stating that very high risk individuals will no longer be facilitated to work remotely from 1 July. He warned that people officially recognised as very high risk are being told to return to the workplace regardless of ongoing health concerns.
Housing indicators and dwelling completions
Turning to housing, Murphy referenced the dashboard which shows Ireland performing relatively well on trend and international comparisons but requiring nuance on data and demand. He said new dwelling completions have risen consistently over the last seven years but that output needs to be closer to 33,000 homes a year.
Asylum seekers and emergency accommodation pressures
Murphy said the number of international asylum seekers has surged beyond recent predictions, a development separate from the Ukrainian situation, and is straining emergency accommodation. Citing the Catherine Day report's estimate of around 3,500, he warned figures could reach 9,000-12,000 before year end, creating additional pressures and prompting a call to fast-track accommodation solutions.
Direct challenge to the Taoiseach
He asked the Taoiseach to stop what he described as regressive moves, to recognise long Covid as an occupational injury, and to avoid forcing vulnerable people back into unsafe working conditions. The exchange ended with the proceedings moving on as time expired.
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Thanks, Kean Corlea. Teachta, Covid hasn't gone away, unfortunately. You look at the case numbers, you look at the hospital numbers, you look at the number of people who are tragically dying on a weekly basis. But the government is acting as if Covid has just gone away. The government is acting to remove supports from people, a number of different supports from the 1st of July. So this Friday, for example, long Covid leave or special leave with pay is ending. People still have Covid, still suffering the effects of long Covid, but the government is withdrawing that support. The government has still refused to recognise long Covid as an occupational injury. And thirdly, in education, a circular has gone out from the Department of Education saying that very high risk individuals are no longer to be facilitated working remotely from the 1st of July, but will have to return to the workplace, regardless of the fact that they're recognised as very high risk. Will you act, Taoiseach, to stop these very regressive moves, recognise long Covid as an occupational injury and don't force people back in unsafe conditions? Yeah, we're back. Housing doesn't come across in terms of, and there's a reason, and if you read the dashboard, it goes through the issues in relation to housing, because the indicators say that Ireland comes out relatively well in terms of trend over time and international comparisons, but that has to be put in context in terms of data availability and demand. So there's, that's far more nuanced. So, in other words, new dwelling completions have been increasing consistently over the last seven years, and they will increase more substantially again. But we need to be closer to, however, to 33,000 a year. One of the big issues in housing that people have referenced, the current situation in emergency accommodation, is the number of international asylum seekers has really gone way up beyond predictions in the last number of months. This is separate altogether from the Ukrainian situation, and it is putting a strain on emergency accommodation that was not anticipated. If you look at the report of Catherine Day in respect of the direct provision and that, I think the estimate was around 3,500, and will be well beyond that now. It could go to 9,000, 12,000 before the end of the year, and that is creating its own pressures as well on, and then within the European Union, there are pressures. You can add all you like, Deputy, you can, no, there's other issues, and there are other pressures also, and we do need to deal with other issues then in terms of fast tracking and getting accommodation in place in any way we possibly can. We need to move on to question 9, I'm sorry, we're out of time, question 9 please.
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