1,000 people in the midlands are currently out of work due to the after-effects of Covid-19.
Ireland's first dedicated 'long covid' clinic is being forced to close, due to a shortage of funding.
For the last two years, the clinic at the Mater Hospital in Dublin has catered to patients who continue to feel the after-effects of covid-19.
However, after failing to secure funding from the HSE, the service - led by Dr. Jack Lambert - is set to close by the end of the year.
Over 1,000 are currently out of work due to the condition - 376 in Laois, 337 in Offaly and 452 in Westmeath.
Co-Leader of the Social Democrats, Róisín Shortall is urging the government to step in:
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