Extra Bank Holiday and other compensation for Covid

Hard to fathom were this is going but my god the costs being mentioned are eye watering. The €350 million mentioned in OP doesn't include cost of agency staff , estimates for HSE alone between €500 million, up to a €1 billion.

I don't disagree with the concept of reward but some of the suggestions seem unworkable and I have to wonder why 10 days as opposed to say 5 days being sought by health service Unions .

The latest Bank Holiday idea seems odd, is this an extra reward for everyone ?

Logistically, implementing a reward across different sectors seems extremely complex, who gets it, who doesn't. I just sense a can of worms has been opened and seriously have to ask, can the country realistically affordable this. Just a humble opinion mind you.

As I expect there'll be some suggestion that no private sector employees will get anything (other than a potential BH) - I've a private sector employer and we got a small but worth receiving bonus this month as recognition of effort/disruption. It'd be worth a few days leave if you were taking them as unpaid anyway.

The best compensation for frontline staff's efforts during covid would be a ramp up in investment on a permanent basis so that the worst of the bullsh1t they had to deal with, never has to be dealt with again. And compensate them properly for the job that they do now.

Throwing them a few bones for a hard year does nothing to make them want to stay in the job.

I reiterate I agree some reward or recognition required but this has to be put into perspective.

At the Height of the Pandemic and indeed for longer. Public hospitals were essentially closed to the public. Dedicated wards and of course ICU's were staffed by incredibly brave people. Whilst I'm no expert and understand any medical staff dealing with potential Covid infections had to endure a lot of additional stress and workload. I just feel a little perspective required in this entire debate. Not all front line staff endured additional hardship and stress and I repeat Hospitals were practically closed to the general public for months.

I had the misfortune of breaking a leg in the middle of the pandemic, literally arrived by ambulance to a completely empty Hospital (A major one in the Midlands), patched up, shipped out and had to make my way, 2 days later to a private hospital in Dublin for operation, (I live in very rural laois), again practically empty hospital. The care I received excellent I'm Dublin I have to say. The follow up at the Midlands hospital bordered on farcical.

Separately I'm supposed to attend a endocrinology clinic in another hospital, all clinic appointments cancelled for almost 2 years, and I now have a bizzare telephone consultation every few months and have to arrange bloods, tests etc with my excellent GP in advance of the telephone consult. It's was an extremely busy clinic, dealing with all sorts of endocrinology issues and has been completely shut down for almost two years.

Ultimately my point is, there is definitely a cohort of front line Hospital staff that absolutely contributed and deserving of recognition but by absolutely no means were the entire staff effected or burdened additionally and in anyway. Harsh people might say but I speak from personal experience.

I would argue Nursing Home staff had the most awful and stressful experience during this Pandemic

It's the problem with anything to do with the public/civil service you can't just reward one group without the rest of the unions piling in. Health workers yes give them a few extra days holidays. Clerical staff who worked for home no you get nothing

Private sector employees who were "frontline" and "essential" workers got extra bonus during pandemic.

Fairly empty roads so they could get to work faster since they also had to queue in the rain when they had to go to shop to buy something.

Other than that most of them can say: What pandemic?

Very hard to disagree with your observations, I will just say I saw first hand, hospitals essentially abandoned and as to other services, well, I suspect the waiting lists speak for themselves. Worth mentioning again, a clinic I'm supposed to attended every 3 months remains closed for 18 months and when I broke my leg, no, I repeat, no physiotherapy offered or available.

I reiterate I don't object to a reward or recognition but a little realism required I think and realistically if all public sector and some private included a €1 billion seems am under estimate

Of course I know but you pointed out other staff diverted , I find it hard to believe all frontline staff in hospitals and other services diverted to Covid wards and ICU'S, That's somewhat stretching it a little.

When may I enquire were Physios for example sent into work in ICU'S or I might add Covid wards 🤔

OK, I stand corrected and didn't wish to offend . I don't know what the answer is to this Reward, Recognition, Bank Holiday etc, I just feel notions of grandure setting in with various public service Unions loosing the run of themselves when the country on its knees financially. I also sincerely believe that n matter what gov come up with, its going yo cause division as i believe not everyone who contrubuted will be rewarded fairly.

I've to upmost respect for your profession and understand some services were impacted , but felt it important to pose the question as why some are still curtailed .

So I accept your points , just have a different view, that's all 😏

FWIW I agree about the costs and think it should be tailored to those that the public genuinely feel should get something .

10 days annual leave is never going to be possible , but frontline staff in many countries have been given bonuses as have essential retail .

I think the bank holiday is possible and for everyone.

100% agreed 👍

That's where the bank holiday comes in , I would think .

Bank holiday,

Everyone did their job and it wasn't quite the hellish scenario been painted here for healthcare workers. It's frightening how 1bn is just such a small arbitrary figure been thrown around now like it's nothing.

How would you know tbf ?

You have denied Covid on the forum all the way so I don't think you quite understand how it was .

Either that or you are on a windup , which is possible too .

The only people mentioning a billion are you and others seeking to exaggerate the sums .

That number was a negotiation ploy by a government financial head to try to ensure that everyone is up in arms about " all public servants applying for this and that " and it is being quoted by some here disingenuously as if that is what is being sought.

That is not what has been or is being sought by us nurses as I have said a few posts back .

The maximum amount would come to €350 to €500 million which is less than what the HSE should be getting back in refunds for their misspend on incorrect PPE and useless outdated ventilators .

Exactly, public service is what you signed up for, and that is what was expected of you. Job security, excellent pension is your reward.

Private companies who benefitted should be the ones paying bonuses not the taxpayer.

There should be no further unnecessary expenditure of taxpayers money on this pandemic.

And your last post there ...?

Nurses did not sign up for all the extra that they were subject to through the pandemic.

We are looking at less than 350million but of course it serves your purpose to misrepresent by saying 1 billion.

I referenced this in my earlier post above and again at least 3 times more already . So if you continue to ignore what is being posted , not much point in replying .

Look 300m 500m 1bn, whatever sector gets it, it's **** galling when so many services are crying out for funding. Funding that would make an enormous difference to people's lives. This benefits no one.

Public health care workers, working through a public health crisis. There is nothing to sign up to extra this is all in the job description.

And of course ignore where I keep saying this 1bn figure includes other sectors not just healthcare workers.

Let's waive all taxes in hospitality for one bank holiday, we all have a big party on the cheap and clap for the HSE. Everyone has a good time and the healthcare workers celebrated.

 I'm really not sure about the merits of this. I do believe that the public service and some HCWs should certainly get some recognition but as people who work in the health system know not everybody contributed in the same way or made the same efforts. The  trouble is with something like this you can't really distinguish between groups without producing unnecessary public squabbles about it. And what kind of rewards do you give those non public service people, like those in retail?

To me the public holiday idea is of more benefit to everybody in the sense of recognizing that we have all been through this. Rewarding specific groups is going to be very expensive and it's already concerning that the government seems to be talking about tax cuts thus adding an extra layer to our debt. It also smells like electioneering and would be absolutely typical of the two larger parties to attempt to fence off the public service vote.

In the end I suspect they may come up with some type of compromise and rewards at lower levels than are currently being bandied about.