Minister for Public Expenditure Michael McGrath has said a pandemic bonus for frontline workers will not be ready in time for the budget.
Mr McGrath is due to meet with unions representing workers looking for extra pay or annual leave to reward their work during the pandemic.
However, the bonus will not be ready in time for Budget 2022.
“We will seek to deal with that as quickly as we possibly can,” Mr McGrath told Newstalk.
“I don't envisage that it will be a budget day issue.
“I think we need to have proper engagement with trade unions and employer bodies to come up with a considered response to this issue because otherwise we run the risk of significant divisions in society on the back of it.”
This comes following the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) and the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) came together in a joint statement to demand the extra money.
Meanwhile, gardaí have equally insisted that they should receive bonus payments, partly arguing that the drop in crime that took place during the pandemic because people were not out is not a reason to leave them out.
