Government must address concern of household contacts, says Labour’s Sherlock

The Government must address the concern of people who are household close contacts and whether they can avail of the Covid illness benefit, says Labour Education spokesperson Senator Marie Sherlock.

The Dublin Central representative was speaking after hearing reports that several have been left “in limbo” regarding what benefits they qualify for.

Senator Sherlock said that this issue must feature in cabinet discussions today about any changes to the advice for close contacts.

While employers must also step up to the mark covering workers who cannot come to work, Senator Sherlock said it is vital that government do more to protect the health and safety of workers.

Senator Sherlock said: “This is a extremely nervous time for many workers who have to go out to work both in terms of protecting their own health and that of their family, but also in terms of their wages and means of living.

“We have had workers contact us in recent days as they are a household close contact of an antigen positive case and so are forced to restrict movements but cannot yet apply for the Covid illness benefit as they don’t have certification from the HSE to say they are a close contact.

“The recent pivot to using antigens as our main testing capacity needs to be backed up with a mechanism where household close contacts can be recorded with the HSE.

“Given the high level of demand for PCR testing that remains in the community, we know that it can be a number of days before an antigen positive case can secure a PCR test and results.

“Meanwhile, household close contacts are out of pocket with no income and no certainty about how they will make ends meet through no fault of their own.

“The current fiasco shows just how weak our defences are from an employment rights point of view. Almost two years into this pandemic and there is still no legal right to sick pay, with the Government continuing to drag its heels on introducing this right for all workers.”