Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome from the Tánaiste's live-streamed parliamentary party meeting yesterday the fact he is taking on board what I brought up ten months ago regarding compensating front-line workers. I am glad he has agreed with that.

I want to raise a specific issue with the Tánaiste regarding mass vaccination clinics and who will do the work. Nurse on Call has put out the pay rates it has been offered to hire people in to do vaccinations in these clinics. Frankly speaking, looking at the rates, the take-home pay for many would be around the minimum wage. A number of people who are qualified to do this work, that is, retired nurses and other qualified people, have told me they are not now going to do the work in the vaccination centres.

It would make more sense for them to continue to work for one day per week in some other facility. We could have a real issue with this. Like with the student nurses, why are we going out for this most important HR solution for vaccinations and not paying people a decent wage for the length of time it will take?

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