Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Perhaps, on foot of this question, the Tánaiste might initiate a review. My understanding is that all members were initially on lists created by their units but that those lists were not fully accepted at a higher level. Apparently, the criteria specified that only those military personnel who were physically administering vaccines or taking swabs would ultimately receive the payment. The people who were not picked up included those who spent more than a year directing traffic through centres at Defence Forces sites, those who were directly engaging with people at the gates of testing centres and those who were looking after the stock on site. None of these were considered. I was in those testing centres during the pandemic. We can be proud of the way our military personnel conducted their operations. I have spoken to some since and it is a shame that some were overlooked. In the interests of fairness, the matter could be reviewed. It would be very fair to reconsider these people.

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