The Labour Party leader says the Government isn’t following public health advice by delaying the prospect of universal sick pay.
Tipperary TD Alan Kelly has been speaking in the Dáil about his party’s bill which would extend sick pay to all workers.
It’s meant to benefit people who get COVID or have a suspected case yet are not entitled to sick pay. However the Government wants to delay the bill by six months.
Deputy Kelly thinks the Government’s position contradicts their public stance to back public health advice:
“On August 27th, the acting CMO made the clear recommendation and the journalist asked him, ‘that recommendation is to be made to Government a few weeks ago by NPHET, is that correct?’, and he said ‘yes’.”
“So, some time in August the Chief Medical Officer has recommended that the issue of sick pay has to be dealt with. The Government has never dealt with it. So that means the Government is not following public health advice.”
