Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Joint Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport
General Scheme of the Broadcasting (Amendment) Bill: Discussion (Resumed)
2:00 am
Mr. Séamus Dooley:
I will take that question first. I have not experienced a Mother Teresa mentality in the media sector where, out of the goodness of their heart, employers offer enhanced terms and conditions of employment. It is a well-established fact internationally that organised labour benefits workers because salaries are paid. Because of the failure of those who inhabit this House, there is no incentive to recognise collective bargaining. There is no incentive for employers to negotiate voluntarily. We have long believed that in the absence of that, we are not going to get proper terms and conditions of employment. That has had a major impact and a failure, in particular in the regional sector that Senator Comyn is very familiar with, to attract and maintain talent. Journalism is now becoming an unaffordable profession.
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