The cost of going to work is becoming "a real issue" for nurses and midwives, as their union claims 70% have still not received their €1,000 pandemic bonus payment.

As the price of rent, housing and fuel continues to spiral, the daily expenses faced by these workers are outweighing wage increases on the table, according to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO).

This comes as 70% of frontline workers eligible for the tax-free bonus payment of €1,000 are yet to receive the payment, according to the union's general secretary, Phil Ni Sheaghdha.

"What our nurses are saying is that with the current cost of going to work, staying at work is becoming a real issue. The cost of housing, the cost of rent, the cost of putting fuel in their cars - all of those out-of-pocket expenses far out-pace the wage increases in Building Momentum, which were negotiated in early 2020," she told RTÉ's This Week.

"They are on very modest salaries. The starting salary for a nurse is €31,000 and after 17 years the maximum they can achieve in that grade is €51,000. These are not big earners. Any out-of-pocket expense and any rate of inflation increase, therefore, has a huge impact."

In Association with

The Government and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions failed to strike a deal over pay for public sector workers last week, following negotiations.

The Government announced in January that frontline public sector healthcare workers would receive a bonus to recognise their unique role during the pandemic.

Those eligible include support staff employed by the HSE such as cleaners, porters, maintenance and catering staff, as well as paramedics and administrative staff who meet the criteria.

Others entitled to the payment are consultants, nurses and midwives, medical laboratory staff, health and social care professionals, and Covid-19 swabbers and vaccinators. However, roll-out of the payment has been slower than anticipated.

Ms Ni Sheaghdha described the delay as "extraordinary", adding that health sector unions have raised the issue with the Oireachtas health committee. "The Government made a promise. They made a big deal of the promise and they have absolutely no method of determining whether employers are living up to that or not," she said.

A spokesman for the HSE said: "Over 26,000 individuals across the health service have received the bonus payment, as of week ending June 3.

"Processing payments for staff is complex and time-consuming, and whilst the pace of payment for the pandemic award was initially slow as assessments regarding qualifying criteria were conducted carefully by local managers, it has significantly picked up over the last payroll period.

"Whist we cannot say when exactly the final payment will be made, it is our intention to have the majority of eligible employees paid in the coming weeks. We thank staff for their patience whilst we continue to process the payments."

Nurses also called for mandatory mask wearing to be introduced on public transport in order to prevent surging Covid-19 cases this summer. Anthony Staines, professor of public health systems at DCU, told Newstalk that Ireland is "flying blind" as we do not have enough data on cases.