Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his question. To recognise their unique role during the pandemic, the Government announced the recognition payment for eligible healthcare workers. Eligibility guidelines are required. Those guidelines, as they apply to the HSE and section 39 organisations, are on the HSE website. I am happy that more than 124,000 workers have been paid. We are fast-tracking those who remain to be paid, including workers in the Defence Forces, the fire brigade, prison nurses and others, the majority of whom are nursing home staff. I have engaged with the HSE and, in fairness to the executive, good progress is being made on that.

The other cohorts covered are agency workers within the HSE, healthcare support assistants contracted to the HSE, members of the Defence Forces deployed to the HSE and paramedic staff, as I mentioned earlier.

The Deputy raised a query relating to Acquired Brain Injury Ireland. It is not possible at this time to comment on individual cases but if workers meet the criteria as set out, they must and will be paid for that. If they do not meet the criteria, they will not be paid. He raised a good question as to why one group but not another, and why one group of healthcare professionals and not another. Those working in general practice, for example, were not covered and people reasonably asked the question on that. Ultimately, the Government had to set criteria. We expanded them quite significantly beyond what was envisaged. However, ultimately, there have to be some criteria around the payment. I hope that the workers to whom the Deputy referred meet the criteria. For those who do, I am in intensive engagement with the HSE at the moment about getting these remaining workers paid as quickly as possible.

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