Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister for Health was quick to tweet a message which contradicted the message given by the head of HR in the health service, namely, that anyone who could not get to work or whose workplace was closed would receive emergency leave with pay. This put at ease the minds of a lot of health care workers, many of whom stayed in hotels, away from their families during a severe weather emergency. Today, workers in Our Lady's Hospice and Care Services, who provide palliative care and are at the front line of care delivery in this State but who could not get to their workplace during the storm, have been told that the time is to be taken from their annual leave. Families are already crippled with child care costs and high rents. They cannot afford to lose a day's pay. They deserve a modicum of respect. They deserve to be treated decently and not given mixed messages. The message that must go out from Government is that all workers, regardless of grade, group and so on, must be treated decently. The Government needs to acknowledge that it did not send out that message.

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