The Health Service Executive is to pay some €15 million in expenses due to staff which were the subject of controversy earlier this week.
The Department of Health has announced that health service staff will receive their expenses for travel and subsistence "when they fall due".
Earlier this week, the HSE had announced plans to defer payment of the expenses, which were incurred in October and November, until January at the earliest.
The plan was strongly criticised by both Minister for Health James Reilly and Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin.
The Department of Health's announcement that the expenses will be paid follows a meeting today between Dr Reilly and HSE chief executive Cathal Magee.
"At today's meeting Dr Reilly re-iterated that he does not regard it as appropriate to implement savings measures that would simply involve the withholding of the travel and subsistence payments that are owed to the relevant members of staff," the Department said in a statement.
"In the context of the difficult financial conditions that currently apply, while all options are being examined, the travel and subsistence payments will be made when they fall due. "
Speaking this morning, Minister for State Róisín Shorthall urged the HSE to "see sense" face up to the obligations that it had to staff to pay the expenses.
She said the decision to delay the payment of expenses "is not an acceptable practice".
