Long Covid payments for healthcare workers
Deputy Shortall called for an urgent debate on ending Covid payments for healthcare workers and warned many could face serious financial hardship.
We need time allocated for an urgent debate on the implications of the ending of the Covid payment for healthcare workers. Many of them face losing everything, including their health, career, financial security and, in some cases, their homes. We applauded the bravery of these healthcare workers when they selflessly went into work on our behalf. We commended them on that. Now it appears they are being abandoned. Does the Taoiseach accept that the Government needs to fulfil its duty of care to these workers? Can we have a discussion this week on how we address this issue? We cannot leave these workers abandoned. It needs to be dealt with this week.