Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I genuinely accept what the Taoiseach says, but the time for platitudes is over. I know a couple who are working in the healthcare service and have a number of children. Childcare cost them thousands of euro, even with family help and a discount. I know of a nurse who was clamped multiple times and whose neighbours volunteered to pay the fines for her. I could tell the Taoiseach stories all day about the people who have made great sacrifices working in healthcare, but it cost them money. It has cost them financially and they have saved lives. As the Taoiseach outlined, they put their lives at risk.

Countries across the world have given a financial bonus to workers. France has given an average €183 per month pay rise to healthcare workers and NHS workers in Scotland received a £500 bonus. In Canada, front-line workers received a $1,200 bonus. In real terms, will the Taoiseach undertake on the floor of the Dáil today to ensure that the Department of Health will work with the HSE over the coming weeks to deliver a real statement of respect to these workers? The buck stops with the Government, not the HSE.

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