Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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Firstly I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to all healthcare workers for their efforts during this most challenging period.

On 19 January, the Government announced a COVID-19 pandemic recognition payment for front-line public sector healthcare workers, to recognise their unique role during the pandemic. Criteria for eligibility of payment for HSE and Section-38 staff was published on 19 April.Since 1July, over 75,000 of these staff have received payment. Payment is being prioritised across all services and will be made to all eligible workers as soon as possible.

The payment will also be rolled out to eligible employees of specific non-HSE/Section 38 organisations covered by the Government decision. This roll out is a complex task, particularly as these employees are not normally paid by the public health service, duplicate payments need to be avoided, and there are many organisations to be covered, but this work is being given priority attention.