Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 39:

In page 11, line 37, after “retention” to insert “, career progression”.

I will speak to amendments Nos. 39 to 42, inclusive. Amendment No. 39 seeks to amend section 9(1)(e) by specifying that it would be a function of the agency to support career progression. Currently, the paragraph only provides for engagement, retention and development of the skills and capacity of researchers of an excellent standard in the national system of research and innovation. We also need to be looking to career progression and ensuring that researchers have viable career paths that provide quality employment and living standards.

Amendment No. 40 seeks to amend section 9(1)(f) to provide that, as well as attracting to the State research and innovation teams of an excellent standard and individuals with an interesting research and innovation of an excellent standard with a view to them carrying out research and innovation in the State, it would be an explicit function to nature within the State such research. We know many researchers come to Ireland and that PhD researchers who come to Ireland face significant barriers once they arrive, particularly in the context of low pay and of course the housing crisis which damages our research system in Ireland.

Amendment No. 41 seeks to insert a new function which would require the agency, in co-operation with An tÚdarás, to promote, support and develop quality employment in the research sector, with sustainable career paths for researchers.

Amendment No. 42 seeks to insert a new function which would require the agency, in co-operation with An tÚdarás, to support and develop tangible plans to end precarious work in the higher education sector. We have had numerous discussions in this House regarding precarious work in higher education and the research sector and I wish to acknowledge Mr. Frank Jones, general secretary of the Irish Federation of University Teachers, who is in the Public Gallery.

Reporting from Noteworthy demonstrated that there have been, on average, more than 11,200 lecturers working on a temporary or casual basis in recent years across Irish universities and institutes of technology, costing an average of more than €67 million each year. Many precarious staff are employed on an hourly basis for the teaching they deliver, which excludes the hours of preparation required to effectively teach classes. Many staff who are on fixed-term contracts are only employed during academic term time and may not be paid for research work which is vital for career progression. They often have to rely on social welfare for the summer months.

The IFUT recently carried out a survey of lecturers which found that 36% of respondents considered themselves to be precariously employed, 95% considered precarious work to be pervasive in our higher education system and 30.6% of hourly-paid staff worked on an if-and-when basis.The surveyed also reported that 21% had no access to maternity leave, 31% had no access to paid sick leave, 33% had no access to paid paternity leave and 62% had no access to compassionate leave. When we look to the experiences of those in precarious work, we see from this noteworthy investigation that the common experience is one of low pay, poor conditions and a lack of security in planning for the future. Rates of hourly pay range from approximately €12.50 to €85 for teaching, depending on a number of factors, but hours not spent teaching, where lecturers are preparing, providing academic and pastoral support to students and doing administrative work, are not factored into pay. In her essay on precarious work, Dr. Deirdre Flynn notes: "There’s an unwritten rule that one hour of lecturing pay includes three or four hours of research and preparation time". Precarity and low pay have real consequences for people’s lives and effectively put a system in place under which someone who is from a disadvantaged background, has a disability or is a woman will in many cases effectively be blocked from pursuing a career in academia. In research by Dr. Theresa O’Keeffe and Dr. Aline Courtois, it was noted that casualisation in the Irish context was systemic and the gender discrepancy became more visible towards the lower end of the status hierarchy, with women concentrated in hourly paid and pro ratawork, the most precarious of the forms of casual labour identified in their sample. We should make no mistake – by excluding diverse voices from our university and higher education institutions, we are losing out on the potential of excellent candidates who would contribute not only to educating society, but to research on solving the most pressing social and environmental challenges of our time.

For PhD researchers, precarity is baked into their lack of recognition as workers. This lack of recognition of employee status disadvantages them, not just when doing their PhDs, but in the years to come when they are employees, given that they are not entitled to PRSI contributions and, therefore, are denied relevant employment protections and rights such as parental leave, maternity leave and sick leave. Importantly, they are disadvantaged in the long term in respect of pension contributions. They also experience low pay. Research from the Postgraduate Workers Organisation shows that the combination of existing low pay with the rising cost of living has made doing a PhD unaffordable for many in our society. Further, non-EEA PhD students also face additional costs in respect of health insurance and visas, which further adds to unaffordability. All of this means that people experience precarity before they are qualified and, after they qualify, that precarity continues and will likely impact much of their careers.

The message we have heard from the Government lacks any real urgency. My colleague, Senator Higgins, tabled a motion that was unanimously passed by the House. Unfortunately, the line from the Government was that it was looking into the matter. Here we are a year later and the situation has not improved for precarious staff, and the Government again looks like it is happy to wash its hands of this problem. Make no mistake – people are exiting the sector and will continue doing so while conditions like these remain. I urge the Minister of State to accept this amendment or to at least engage with Senator Higgins, our colleagues and me between now and Report Stage. The quality and excellence of Irish research depends on being able to bring people into the sector and retain them.