Union says nurses are still waiting on pandemic bonus

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has said that dozens of nurses are still waiting for the Pandemic Recognition Payment.

In January 2022, the Government announced that frontline public sector healthcare workers would receive a €1,000 bonus to recognise their unique role during the pandemic.

The INMO said that fifteen community intervention team nurses in SouthDoc and thirty-eight community intervention team nurses in CareDoc in Wexford, Waterford, Wicklow, Kilkenny, Carlow and Tipperary have yet to receive the payment.

"These nurses are the only community intervention team nurses in the country who have yet to receive the pandemic recognition payment," said Liam Conway, INMO Industrial Relations Officer.

"These nurses entered the homes of patients when very little protections were available to them."

"These nurses put their lives at risk, like so many of their colleagues across the healthcare system did, when we knew so little about COVID," Mr Conway said.