David Cullinane (Waterford, Sinn Fein)
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This was a very good report. I have not seen the report itself but I have seen the media coverage and RTÉ responded to it. It states there are issues with bogus self-employment and confirms that about one quarter of RTÉ staff are on these contracts. Worryingly for RTÉ, although it is good news for the staff, it states there may be issues in respect of back pay and a cost to RTÉ in implementing the report's recommendations, which it should do. This is something that we might return to because indirectly that would be a cost to the taxpayer. The committee should certainly write and get a copy of the report as it came directly from a hearing of the Committee of Public Accounts. It is good that there has been a response. There is an independent report and it confirms there are issues. There are also wider issues for other media outlets. If we could, we should write to the sectoral committee, which I think is the employment affairs and social protection committee, to ask it to examine the wider issues associated with bogus self-employment in semi-State bodies, as it might not be something peculiar to RTÉ.