Public healthcare workers, who served onsite in a clinical Covid-19 exposed env. to receive 1k euro

Anything for the voluntary Civil Defence, Red Cross and Order of Malta lads and lassies? They were manning the vaccine and testing centres down my neck of the woods in all weathers.

Yes Leo mentioned the army and volunteers at testing centres who would be eligible

How can they justify Revenue and then not pay GPs ?

They're not now. But initially Varadkar said that all would qualify. He set the ball in motion.

He stated at the time how great SW and Revenue were in getting PUP and other emergency payments and measures out.

GPs were very well remunerated for every vaccine they injected. They have received a bonus several times over already.

Most GP's I know pretty much refused to see patients in person except in extreme cases, they were quick however to allow people in for vaccines, they did extremely well from Covid 19 without improving their service as far as I can see.

The rank and file Gardai on the street played a blinder at the start to be fair, they deserve it, the administrative Gardai shouldn't be getting it.

Private companies can choose to pay staff more or give extra days off or give them a bonus so meat factory workers, shop workers, binmen, etc. should look for bonuses from their employers, most of whom cleaned up throughout the pandemic.

The government wastes a massive amount of money paying long term Jobseekers a Christmas bonus so don't see why people who work and in fact kept the country going shouldn't be entitled to a few pound and more importantly a proper thank you for risking their lives. Cut the Christmas bonus for Long term Jobseekers to help pay for it. Reward people for working, not for not working.

Was that you on Joe Duffy the other day

To be fair, I think it's pretty easy to draw a line in terms of who should get a bonus. Essential workers like binmen or shop assistants weren't working directly with infected or potentially infected patients.

But there have been some obvious blind spots in it. It goes without saying that Gardai, Firemen (even volunteer ones), Paramedics should qualify here as the nature of their work means they couldn't avoid coming into contact with infected patients. Other workers are protected by virtue of the fact that anyone infected was quarantining and they had a right to refuse to enter risky situations. Realistically anyone who worked in a public hospital or healthcare facility should also be entitled. Whether they were employed directly by the state or not is irrelevant.

GPs probably more of a grey area, but they were paid specifically for vaccines and covid referrals, so that works. Maybe some form of lower tax rate on that income specifically could be arranged.

They should reference Roy Keane when it to comes to people in a non clinical role during COVID-19..

Drove a bus

Drove a truck

Drove a train

Stacked a shelf

Moeded a lawn

Answered a phone.

It's their job

Should the lads on the dole get the bonus?....queueing up at intreo offices looking for handouts during the height of the pandemic....

Putting themselves at risk....

The offices were closed. They doled from home 😁

I don't think it should be that specifically limited. Through the pandemic Gardai will have had to attend all kinds of different situations from suicides to car crashes to assaults, public order incidents, with no ability to engage in social distancing or other protective measures afforded to, e.g. shop staff. That put them at a much higher risk of being infected than other essential workers.

At the same time as Pat Kenny said on his programme, the run of the mill policing reduced due to no late night openings of pubs, clubs etc and people being confined to set local and regional limits etc.

Kenny put it to the GRA rep that only those specific Gardai working in situations as you describe should be paid, however the rep believes that they all should have a piece of the action.

I was just joking about firemen going into fires not dressed in protective gear

Ah, sorry. 😁