Luz is one of more than 120 healthcare workers who were still receiving the special payment, intended to cover pay, allowances and premiums, when it was discontinued last December. Dr Brian Kent, a consultant respiratory and sleep physician at St James’s Hospital in Dublin, says he has seen a wide range of patients with Long Covid. She has been told on various occasions that the problems stem from Long Covid but she feels many people do not understand the condition. Quaide says there are still a “window of time” before the healthcare workers’ sick leave will be halved. “The Government could implement the call of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to classify Long Covid as an occupational injury for this cohort,” he says.

Source: The Irish Times February 16, 2026 14:03 UTC