Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In early January, the Government announced plans for a special tax-free €1,000 pandemic bonus payment for front-line workers who worked in Covid-19 environments, risking their lives and those of their families to keep the rest of us safe. Nearly nine months later, thousands of workers who are not paid directly by the HSE, such as those working in the private sector, in nursing homes, agency staff, people working in long-term residential care, people working in home help, carers and others, have not received this payment. When will these people see this payment in their bank accounts? We need a date from the Department of Health and we need it to stick to that date. Otherwise, the Government will have to intervene and sort this out as soon as possible. Surely that is the least we owe these people, who risked their lives for us.

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