I wish to apologise to the Deputy for his correspondence not yet receiving a response, as officials in my Department continue to work through significant volumes of queries on this matter.
On 19th April, the HSE published additional details on this payment, including full eligibility criteria, particulars, and terms and conditions that apply to HSE and Section 38 organisations' employees. This information is available at www.hse.ie/eng/staff/resources/hr-circulars/hr-circular-012-2022-pandemic-special-recognition-payment.html
Regarding the time period element of the eligibility criteria, otherwise-eligible individuals who worked for more than four weeks in total within the period between 1st of March 2020 and 30th of June 2021 will be in scope. Of those, eligible employees whose contracted hours are equal to or greater than 60% WTE for their grade shall receive €1,000, and eligible employees whose contracted hours are less than 60% WTE for their grade shall receive €600.