Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
712. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Social Protection further to Parliamentary Question No. 142 of 21 June 2023, if she has considered her Department's response to the European Commission's recommendation to recognise Covid-19 as an occupational illness and the responses received from other Departments and Ministers; the date at which she expects to make a decision; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [36474/23]
View answerChapter 13 of Part 2 of the Social Welfare Consolidation Act 2005 legislates for the Occupational Injuries Benefit scheme for persons injured by an accident at work or caused by a prescribed disease due to the nature of their employment.
Covid-19 is not currently a prescribed disease or illness for the purposes of the Occupation Injuries Benefit scheme. Section 87 (2) of the Act states that a disease or injury shall be prescribed for the purposes of this section in relation to any insured persons, where the Minister is satisfied that—
(a) it ought to be treated, having regard to its causes and any other relevant considerations, as a risk of their occupations and not as a risk common to all persons, and
(b) it is such that, in the absence of special circumstances, the attribution of particular cases to the nature of the employment can be established or presumed with reasonable certainty.
My Department is aware of the recommendation of the European Commission regarding Covid-19. The decision on whether or not to recognise an illness as an occupational illness is a Member State competence. I have consulted with other relevant departments and Ministers on the matter of recognition of COVID-19, and the responses received are currently under consideration. I intend having further discussions with my colleagues before a decision will be made.
It should be noted that the European Commission has not made a recommendation about recognising long-COVID as an occupational disease and most member states have not recognised long-COVID. The UK Department of Work and Pensions presented a report to the UK parliament in November 2022 which concluded that long-COVID should not be considered an occupational disease due to the lack of evidence and the evolving nature of the illness.
I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.
