Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 January 2026
55. Deputy Liam Quaide asked the Minister for Social Protection the way in which eligibility for occupational injuries recognition and related supports for healthcare workers with long Covid differs from eligibility for healthcare workers who have sustained other occupational injuries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2582/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraInjury benefit is an income support scheme provided by my Department under the occupational injuries benefit scheme and is funded by the Social Insurance Fund, through the payment of Pay Related Social Insurance contributions.
It is a weekly payment made to an insured person if they are unfit for work either due to an accident arising out of and in the course of employment (at work or an accident while travelling, on a continuous journey, to or from work), or due to the contraction of a prescribed disease, due to the type of work they do and in the course of insurable employment.
There were 2,176 claims awarded for injury benefit in 2025, with an estimated expenditure in 2025 of €7.4 million. Claims for injury benefit are made by persons in a variety of employments and for a range of reasons, including injuries from falls, car accidents and the contraction of a prescribed disease.
In November 2023, my Department published a report on the inclusion of long COVID in the Occupational Injuries Benefit Regulations. The report concluded that COVID-19 does not satisfy the statutory criteria for recognition as an occupational illness or accident at work. Specifically, it found that presumptions about workplace transmission would not be sustainable as it is not possible to establish with confidence that the disease has been contracted through a person’s occupation and not through community transmission. This is because data shows that community transmission was the primary means of transmission.
It is important to note that, even if Ireland did recognise COVID-19 as an occupational disease, this would not encompass long COVID and would only apply to new claims for new cases of COVID-19. As such, it would not benefit those who contracted COVID-19 during the pandemic.
My Department's range of income supports, including illness benefit and invalidity pension, at the same or higher rates of payment as occupational injuries benefit, are available to people who cannot work due to the effects of long COVID.
It is important to note that entitlement to these supports is generally not dependent on the nature of the illness or disability but on the extent to which a particular illness or disability impairs or restricts a working age person’s capacity to work.
I trust this clarifies the position for the Deputy.
