Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I raise the case of 15 Cork-based nurses who are being denied the €1,000 Covid bonus. These nurses are members of the SouthDoc community intervention team. They administer intravenous injections of fluids, antibiotics and so on to patients who have been discharged from hospital back to their homes and communities. All 15 of these nurses were patient-facing during the Covid emergency. In other words, they risked their health and their lives to care for others in our health service. The bonus would cost their employer a mere €15,000, that is, €1,000 for 15 workers. The HSE has approved it but the direct employer, SouthDoc, pleads inability to pay. I understand a similar situation pertains at midlands CareDoc. Does the Taoiseach agree that this payment should now be made and that a real injustice is being perpetuated while it is not?

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