Sir, – I have been a quadriplegic for 24 years. I receive an allocation of 70 hours per week personal assistant (PA) services with the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA). I have been using this service since day one.
My PAs have not received their pandemic payment bonus yet, almost a year and a half since the Government announced it.
Most frontline healthcare workers have long ago received this payment but PAs just seem to be getting excuses.
As a highly dependent wheelchair user, I value my PAs and as you can imagine it is a very close relationship because they are literally my hands and legs.
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The year the pandemic started in 2020 was a particularly bad year for me as I spent short spells in hospital on four occasions.
My PAs came to me without fail to look after me and ensure I stayed Covid free.
Why is paying the bonus to them and other PAs dragging on for so long?
I do not know where the fault lies, with the HSE, the private company managing the payments or the IWA.
I have attempted to contact the IWA about this but without a response.
I am sure there are many others apart from my own PAs who are in the same situation and whose voices are unheard.
They all deserve better. – Yours, etc,
MARK GOVERNEY,
Churchtown,
Dublin 14.
