Cathal Berry (Kildare South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Taoiseach for his response. There is a supplementary matter I wish to raise, relating to the €1,000 pandemic bonus payment. Not a single member of the Defence Forces has been paid the bonus yet, even though hundreds of them are eligible, entitled to it and have been told it is coming. It still has not arrived, however. We have heard that, rightly, 75,000 people in the HSE have been paid the bonus. That is fantastic and I say "Well done" to the HSE for paying its own staff, but there are members of other organisations that looked after contact tracing, testing and vaccination who are eligible for this allowance yet still have not been paid. Not only has it not been paid, no member of the Defence Forces has applied for it because there is no mechanism in place to so do. I would be grateful if the Taoiseach were to take that up with his relevant line Ministers to see if he can ensure prompt payment for our troops.

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