Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions Dail Éireann — 2026-05-21 ============================================================ Paul Nicholas Gogarty (IND), Dublin Mid-West I concur with my colleagues about the ongoing Israeli atrocities in Gaza and their mistreatment of 14 Irish citizens. I would like to see the Minister do as much as she can on this. The issue I want to raise is that in Ireland right now, a worker can give 20 or 30 years of service, pay full PRSI, pay the higher rate of tax, contribute to the economy every single day and then the moment they face a serious illness, they are hit hard. After a handful of statutory sick pay days, they are pushed onto a flat-rate payment. That bears no connection to their original income or contributions or the financial responsibilities they have based on those ongoing contributions. It is a social protection system that is not fit for purpose. It is a bit of a patchwork that sees people who are contributing to the tax take hit hard at the very moment they are most vulnerable. I welcome statutory sick leave. It was a great first step but we need a new model, a bit like the pensions plan that was introduced. It has its critics but it is a model that could be replicated in this regard with a hybrid system where employers, employees and the State all contribute to a fair and sustainable sick pay structure that is to an extent based on income and replaces a realistic percentage of that income and protect affected low-, middle- and higher-income workers and recognise the decades of contributions they have made. I recently got a message from a constituent who is battling hard against breast cancer, which, as the Minister knows, affects one in seven women. She is someone with a well-paid job. She studied and worked hard to get to the level she is at and she raises the valid point about helping those who have contributed over many years. She states: I'm currently off work, My employer paid me a percentage of my salary for eight months. I got back to work for six months and then I had to go out again. I have had five surgical procedures in four months, including one major surgery. I am getting €250 a week. My medicine costs €170 month, as one of my meds is high tech and not covered. I have a mortgage, car, etc. I paid the higher rate of tax, I would say, for over 20 years, if not more. I worked very hard throughout my career. I made significant contributions along the way. Unfortunately, my recovery hasn't been straightforward. Work is an important part of my DNA and I miss all the social interaction. I was brought up to be independent. I've been fortunate enough that I did get some sick pay from my employer and I did have some insurance cover in place, savings for college fees. etc. However, I've been sick for over two years, I have been impacted financially and there are many, many people in the same boat I've met through my illness, some without any supports and it's not right. People who, like me, paid taxes at the higher rate throughout. I think the State should provide, when needed, appropriate illness support, based on taxes paid and cancer should absolutely be seen as a long-term illness with appropriate supports, especially in this case, breast cancer. I would like the Minister's thoughts on this and whether such a hybrid model could be looked at. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-21/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:58+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-21