Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister of State is very welcome to the House. As we all know, during the two years of the Covid-19 pandemic, the one group of people in the front line were nurses and healthcare staff in both the public and private healthcare sectors. The tax-free €1,000 that has been granted by the Government to these front-line workers is very welcome. It is not the money but the appreciation, the respect and the acknowledgement from the people of Ireland to nurses, healthcare providers and those who supported and cared for us during the pandemic, in particular those who cared for the many thousands of people who ended up in hospital very sick with Covid-19.

There were also those who helped to prevent many more people from getting sick and passing away.The €1,000 was a very good gesture but I am most disappointed in the haphazard way its payment has happened. I raised this matter today because I want a clear timeline as to when all the people who are being given the €1,000 will get it. What arrangements are in place to ensure they will get it? I am hearing that staff in hospitals around the country have not gotten it yet. I am hearing that nurses in nursing homes, carers and so on, people who are entitled to receive it, are still waiting for it and do not even know when they will get the payment. I sincerely hope that as a result of me raising this Commencement matter, we will get a clear and definite timeline for the payment of the €1,000.