Earlier today, the Taoiseach commended public servants on their response in handling Covid-19, and rightly so. Many of those public servants, however, have still not been paid the pandemic bonus payment. Members of the Defence Forces and the fire services have not been paid, and then there are tens of thousands of agency workers, nursing home staff and many others who have also still not been paid. My understanding is that the Government is now looking at hiring a consultancy firm to figure out how those staff are going to be paid. We have still not worked out how they are going to be paid, never mind when they are going to be paid. This stings for those workers still waiting. Can some clarity be given regarding the timeframes for when these workers will be paid? I ask this because the situation is unacceptable.

As the Deputy is aware, the vast majority of HSE and sections 38 and 39 staff have been paid. I am not satisfied that other arms of the State, including the fire brigade and the Defence Forces, for example, have not been paid. I have communicated in recent days with the Deputy and the HSE regarding this point. When it comes to paying private businesses, I am not satisfied with the pace at which this has happened. However, the HSE is concerned, and it is right to be, that if it makes payments to private businesses and it overpays, representatives of the organisation will be dragged in here and in front of the Committee of Public Accounts and made to account for not having the requisite processes in place. What the HSE is trying to do is the right thing. It is trying to ensure that there is absolute transparency and that the money paid out is the right amount. I agree with the Deputy that the pace at which this has happened has not been fast enough and I am engaged with the HSE to that end.

I thank the Minister.