Martin Conway (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for her comprehensive reply. Everyone in the country acknowledges that the critical and vital role everyone in the hospitals, from nurses down to the porters, played on the front line during the healthcare emergency. This measure was announced in January. It is now 2 June. It seems it is a case of big wheels moving way too slowly. People are trying to plan holidays. They have already decided what they are going to do with this money. One healthcare worker asked me if they were ever going to get it. It is great that 12,000 people have received the payment but there are many tens of thousands still waiting. It should not take six months to pay 12,000 people and another six months to pay the rest. While the Minister of State said this matter is receiving priority attention, it needs even more of it.