Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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565. To ask the Minister for Health the status of the current outstanding pandemic recognition payments; the number of payments outstanding to eligible healthcare workers; the healthcare sectors that are yet to receive the payment; when the pandemic recognition payment will be paid to frontline healthcare staff in private nursing homes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45897/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The rollout of the Pandemic Recognition Payment for eligible HSE and Section 38 employees is currently receiving priority. As of Friday, 9 September, 85,078 eligible HSE staff have received payment around the country. This number excludes Section 38 agencies which are estimated to have paid 37,589 staff to date thereby bringing the total number of employees paid to 122,667.

The HSE and the Department have been examining progressing the rollout of the Pandemic Recognition Payment to the list of 6 non-HSE/non-Section 38 organisation types covered by the Government Decision. This measure will be ring fenced to staff working ordinarily onsite in COVID-19 exposed healthcare environments. This shall cover eligible staff in:

1. Private Sector Nursing Homes and Hospices (e.g. Private, Voluntary, Section 39 etc.);

2. Eligible staff working on-site in Section 39 long-term residential care facilities for people with disabilities;

3. Agency roles working in the HSE;

4. Health Care Support Assistants (also known as home help / home care / home support) contracted to the HSE;

5. Members of the Defence Forces redeployed to work in frontline Covid-19 exposed environments in the HSE;

6. Paramedics employed by Dublin Fire Brigade to deliver services on behalf of the HSE.

In relation to eligible staff in cohorts 1-4 above, in order to progress the payment of the Pandemic Recognition Payment, the HSE has published an invitation to tender for a third-party contractor to assist with the payment process. The invitation to tender remained open for potential tenderers to apply for the contract until the 9^thof September 2022. It is expected that once a contract is in place, information will be published shortly thereafter to facilitate applications and payment. Once this process is in place, the Department is keen that payments to eligible workers will be made as soon as possible thereafter.

With regard to eligible staff in cohorts 5 and 6, the Department of Health is engaging with the Department of Defence, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform to progress payments to these cohorts as soon as possible.