The Chief Executive of the Health Service Executive, Paul Reid, has said the Covid-19 Pandemic Special Recognition Payment has been made to 123,000 employees so far.
He told the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health that 85,000 of these are in HSE statutory organisations and 38,000 are in Section 38 organisations.
Mr Reid said the processing of the payment continues to receive priority across all hospitals and community services, and the HSE was working with the Department of Health to take forward the payment to staff working in other organisations.
The committee heard that it will likely be November or December before remaining payments are made. The National Joint Council of ICTU Health Sector Trade Unions, representing the INMO, SIPTU, Forsa, IMO, Unite, MLSA, and Connect union has called on Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly to urgently intervene to have the payments made.