Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)
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The Minister of State, Deputy Anne Rabbitte is very welcome. As always, it is good to have her in the Seanad.

Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael)
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Good morning. I will go back to something that has been raised here on numerous occasions by numerous representatives and it relates to the pandemic unemployment payment. I am speaking on behalf of the staff at St. Christopher's Services in Longford, which is a section 39 organisation with over 200 staff members providing daytime, residential and respite care for many adults and young children in our community. I am aware it is a place the Minister of State knows personally. I know she has visited it and that funding has been made available through her Department for numerous advances in the facility. It is one of those treasure facilities that we have in our county. There were challenging times, particularly during the pandemic, and there were challenges in keeping staff and pay parity etc because of the fact that it is a section 39 organisation. We have to put on record our thanks to all the staff for the work they did during that time. That was recognised by the Government with the announcement of the pandemic payment, that is, the €1,000 grant for those who worked throughout that time. However, like other areas within the health service and similar to other organisations, a substantial number of staff still have not received that payment two years on from the initial announcement. Frustration is growing among the staff regarding this. I bring it to the House and to the Minister of State today, on behalf of all the staff to get clarity as to what the situation is and on when all staff will receive their payments. Yet again, we thank the staff for the work they have done there down through generations in St. Christopher's Services on behalf of all the families in the county. We need clarity now on when that payment will be put in place.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator for raising this issue this morning. Last year, the Government announced a generous tax-free Covid-19 recognition payment for front-line healthcare workers to recognise their unique and exceptional role during the pandemic. The Senator is quite right; I know St. Christopher's Services quite well. I have visited a number of times and acknowledge the phenomenal work of the staff. Following extensive union consultation, eligible guidelines were first published online by the HSE on 19 April 2022. The Government based its decision on the substantial risks eligible healthcare workers faced. To be eligible, healthcare workers employed by the HSE section 38 organisations must have been in Covid-19 vaccination cohorts 1 and 2 and worked ordinarily in a Covid-19-exposed healthcare environment for at least a four-week period between March and June 2020. The first flaw in this script is that while it clearly acknowledges HSE and section 38, whoever typed this for me has omitted to include section 39. It is my understanding that section 39 organisations were part and parcel of the cohort of workers who were to receive payment. Therefore, I apologise for the fact that it has been omitted from the Cathaoirleach's script also and I will seek clarity on that.

In addition to the HSE section 38 staff, six specific cohorts are eligible subject to all other criteria. These include private sector independent nursing homes and hospices; eligible staff working on-site in section 39 long-term residential care facilities for people with disabilities; agency staff working in the HSE; healthcare support assistants and members of the Defence Forces redeployed to work in front-line Covid-19-exposed environments; and pandemic paramedic staff employed by the Dublin Fire Brigade to deliver services on behalf of the HSE. It is also important to understand that when long-term staff who supported people living in long-term residential services, that is, day-care centre staff, went in to support during that period of time, it also applies. That is a nuance that needs to be understood. To date, those who meet the criteria, more than 2,000 eligible healthcare workers, have received the pandemic recognition payment.As of 2 June the HSE shows 143,556 staff paid, comprising 90,410 HSE staff and an estimated 53,146 section 38 staff. The payment to staff in the HSE and section 38 organisations is substantially complete. Appeals for these specific groups were referred to an agreed joint HSE management and union committee. Over 3,500 appeals outcomes are now complete. The Department of Health transferred funding to the Defence Forces and Dublin City Council in respect of Dublin Fire Brigade paramedics and eligible Defence Forces staff. I understand that these payments are now complete.

Regarding non-public sector employees, the HSE and the external contractor, KOSI Corporation, are continuing to make significant efforts to progress payments to those eligible. Information on the process involved has now been provided to 850 organisations and of these, 740 have applied for funding to make the recognition payment. Some 689 organisations have already been paid or approved for payments for 66,693 eligible staff. Due to the complexities of the cohort, contractors had more supporting evidence to compile, while agencies have a large number of employees and employee locations to collate. These submissions are currently being managed through the KOSI process.

Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael)
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I am a little bit baffled with that reply. It refers to eligible staff working on-site in section 39 organisations, which covers St. Christopher's, yet there is reference made constantly to section 38. I just want to get clarity on that. I do not think the Minister of State's response answers what I asked. I does not give me the answer I looked for. I wonder if the Minister of State might be able to clarify it further with specific reference to St. Christopher's.

Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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As I am taking this on behalf of the senior Minister in the Department of Health, I will give the Senator my understanding from reading the script here. My understanding is that the €1,000 bonus payment was paid firstly to the HSE staff. It was then paid secondly to the section 38 staff. They are currently working their way through the section 39 organisations. There are 850 of those section 39 organisations, of which 689 have compiled a report back in. There are 66,000 staff right across it and they are currently working their way through it. That is how it reads to me. The process is going far too slow for the staff who are section 39 workers. It is my understanding, based on the first page, that anyone who worked in a Covid centre qualifies for the payment if they were there for longer than a month. If they had to flick in and out, or if they were day service staff who had to step up to provide relief cover, they qualify as long as they did that over a period of a month across the entire pandemic. I think it is unfortunate that the likes of St. Christopher's and other organisations actually have to demonstrate how the person calculated their days if they were not solely assigned to that residential facility.

Martin Conway (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State. Let us hope it is resolved. I know the wonderful work the staff in St. Christopher's in County Longford do every day.