The Tánaiste was Taoiseach when I raised the issue of a €1,000 bonus for front-line workers last year. He will be aware that the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, INMO, has also looked for a bonus or annual leave. We do not need to rehearse why the people who worked on the front line deserve this bonus. The Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, could not be engaged by the HSE last year because the Government refused to sign off on anything. We all know that other European countries, including the UK and France, have acted in various ways, be that through changes in tax, provision of direct bonuses or other means. In yesterday's Irish Examiner, there was some form of leak or statement to the effect that something is being considered in the budget for front-line workers. While not giving us the details given that this is a budgetary issue, will the Tánaiste confirm that something will be done in the budget to acknowledge front-line workers and their contribution throughout the Covid pandemic?

I have no detail on this because it is not agreed yet, but the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, is working on the issue. All of us in this House acknowledge that front-line workers who put in an extra effort and made extra sacrifices during the pandemic, and continue to do so, should be rewarded in some way. Whether that is a financial bonus or additional annual leave needs to be discussed but I would have a strong view as well that it should not be limited to front-line workers in our health service. I have seen the enormous work done by civil servants in the Department of Social Protection making sure people got their pandemic unemployment payment, PUP, quickly. I know of the work staff in Revenue did making sure businesses got their employment wage subsidy scheme, EWSS, payments and staff in my Department did making sure businesses got the assistance they needed. Too often, we make this distinction between front-line workers and non-front-line workers, which does not fully appreciate that there is nothing you can do as a front-line worker if it were not for all of the people behind you.