Mr. Paul Bell:

I thank the Deputy. I will assist her in regard to the term "reimbursement", which is a fair enough word, but we want to have a conversation about a special annual leave credit with the HSE and our colleagues in the other trade unions involved in that.

On circular 33/2020 and flexibilities, at this stage we have no clear picture of how effective it was in ensuring that healthcare workers with childcare needs could provide that service to themselves.

Let us remember that the ultimate issue was that in the event no flexibility could be reached, a health worker could basically work from home or take leave. That is a very difficult thing to quantify. If we are changing people's rosters, they still have to fit in to the needs of the health service. If a worker was taking leave for childcare, it is not yet understood how many workers got access to that or were able to avail of it. I do not believe the issue of childcare was ever addressed through circular 33/2020. While I stand to be corrected, I do not believe I will be.