Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I appreciate what the Minister is saying. She was very quick to go out there and meet with the unions and staff, but I can tell her from meeting with them in recent days that their position does not feel any more secure. Women are about to retire with no pension and all of those issues that I acknowledge the Minister is making a very concerted effort to address. There is a lot of fear there. When we meet with the staff on an individual basis or in small groups, there are stories of bullying and intimidation on questioning their contract. I agree with Deputy Griffin that when those staff question their contract, they are being told that RTÉ cannot do anything and the only way to pursue it is through the legal route. We all know very well in this committee that RTÉ's legal route involves having Arthur Cox represent it and it is completely unthinkable for any individual to actually follow through with a case. They are put in a position where they have no hope of getting their entitlements. They are fighting the organisation that acknowledges they have not been paid right or had the right classification or the advantages they should have had if they had been correctly employed. I do not believe they are telling me anything inaccurate or untrue. The only way they can follow through to get what they are entitled to is by taking a legal route. No individual could be expected to take on the likes of the legal might of RTÉ.