Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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We had many hearings into the university sector which stood out in the Committee of Public Accounts of the previous Dáil. There is a high degree of casualisation of work, including by people who are giving lectures, which might be even more precarious now. In that context we asked some of these questions. In some instances people told us that they had been paid in book vouchers. They had very precarious situations. It was not unique to one university and several universities had problems. In looking at this, we need to look at not just holidays in line with legal requirements. I believe we asked this college this question. If somebody spent four years doing casual work, that is very different from somebody doing it for six months. That is why we looked at it over a period of time. There appears to be a problem across the board. It was brought to our attention by individuals who were working in various universities and colleges.