'The Oireachtas broadcast staff employment status is deeply concerning' - Sligo/Leitrim senator
'Staff are faced with withdrawal of pay during Oireachtas recess periods including Christmas, lack of pension entitlements, pay that is significantly below the industry norm,' she said.
The "ongoing unfairness of broadcasting staff in the Oireachtas being employed on term-time only contracts", was remarked on by Sligo/Leitrim Senator Nessa Cosgrove, Labour’s Workers’ Rights Spokesperson.
“The Oireachtas broadcast staff employment status is deeply concerning. Staff are faced with withdrawal of pay during Oireachtas recess periods including Christmas, lack of pension entitlements, pay that is significantly below the industry norm," she said.
She continued: “These workers provide an essential public service - it is of the utmost importance for transparency that voters can clearly see what is happening in the Oireachtas. It is simply unacceptable that their employment is so precarious. This has real-world consequences for their pensions, their potential ability to secure a mortgage, and their financial stability.
“The State should be leading by example. Instead, we have another situation like that of school secretaries, caretakers and adult education tutors — vital workers denied the dignity of secure employment.
“I’m calling on the Oireachtas to rectify this immediately and offer proper, year-round contracts to its broadcast staff.”
The Irish Examiner reported that the Oireachtas said that directly hiring broadcast staff as civil servants would not provide “value for money” to taxpayers.
In a letter to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Dáil clerk Peter Finnegan said it would cost €3.98m per year to directly hire all the Oireachtas broadcast staff on a full-time basis — 25 in total however, this was based on salaries advertised within the sector, adding that details of staff salaries are not available.
In their own letter to the PAC, part-time staff members said there are 13 part-time staff, which can be supplemented with freelancers when required and that their salaries are not set at the industry-standard pay rates, particularly citing the fact they are not provided with income supports while the Dáil and Seanad are not sitting.
The staff calculated their total salaries cost the company €169,000 in 2024, while the yearly value of Pi Communication’s ( the contractor overseeing Oireachtas broadcast services) contract, inclusive of Vat, is approximately €1.77m.
“This relatively low proportion of expenditure allocated to staffing — the principal operational cost — highlights a broader concern regarding value for money,” they write.
The group has said, while the Oireachtas is in recess, part-time staff are often required to rely on State welfare supports.