Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The Government announced a COVID-19 pandemic recognition payment for certain frontline public sector healthcare workers, to recognise their unique role during the pandemic.

Certain non-HSE/Section 38 healthcare employees are covered by the Government Decision, and efforts are underway to complete an efficient and expeditious rollout to these staff. These include eligible staff in:

1. Private sector/independent nursing homes and hospices;

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.

Regarding cohorts 1-4 above, the HSE and an external contractor, KOSI Corporation, are currently progressing the rollout to these eligible staff. As of 10th February, 694 organisations have applied for funding for the recognition payment. I am pleased to confirm that 542 organisations have already been paid or approved for payments for 45,383 eligible staff, with more due in the coming weeks.

As this information is being collected, validated, corrected, and acted on in real-time in a self-assessment manner, it is not possible to estimate exactly how many individuals have yet to be paid.

Regarding cohorts 5 and 6 above, the Department of Health has transferred approx. €2.1m in funding in early November to the Department of Defence and Dublin City Council to enable payments to these eligible staff. While implementation of the payment at local level is a matter for those bodies, these payments are substantially complete.