Mark Wall (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House this evening. Importantly, I should first put on the record that for another short period I will be member of the current commission. Senator Kyne mentioned that in his contribution. I want to welcome some of the new contents of the Bill, particularly with regard to the PBO. I have seen some of what is involved there. It is a very positive step in relation to what we need to do here in the Oireachtas. Particularly as a new Member, I think it is positive for everybody on all sides of the House. I welcome that development.

Like previous speakers, I want to concentrate on the secretarial role here and the work that the secretarial assistants do for us all. Before my contribution on that topic, I want to acknowledge the work done by all the staff in running both Houses and the Leinster House campus. It is valued by us all. Again, I speak as a new Member who has come in here. I have valued the support of all staff in showing me around. I am sure I speak for all of those who have joined in the recent past.

The first topic I raised as a member of the commission when I attended my first meeting in August of last year was the problem surrounding the payment of those we engage as secretarial assistants in both Houses. As Senator Kyne said, following that intervention and following the continued raising of that issue by colleagues at our commission meetings, this important matter has become a standing item each month at our commission meeting. Each month, we are given an update by the HR unit on where things stand. Unfortunately, as other Members have outlined, it has been standing still since last August, despite what was promised in the recent past. I agree wholeheartedly with my colleague Senator Gavan that this campus should be a place where workers earn a living wage. We should show an example and the Government should take that on board. I am sure the Minister will mention that in his reply.

There can be little doubt that the work of our secretarial assistants has evolved and changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Our daily asks of our secretarial assistants are enormous and do not reflect the perceived job. Indeed, the Minister mentioned that in his contribution when he spoke about what we did in a bygone era. Gone are the days when secretarial assistants worked from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and simply looked after dictated letters or answered a phone. The job has developed into a much more comprehensive role. Put simply, none of us would be able to function without those who work for us.

I welcome the Minister’s contribution and his positive words. Indeed, he said last week during a Commencement debate that he wants a successful resolution of the matter and an early presentation of proposals. Those words will resound with all of the secretarial assistants. It is important that the Minister puts those words on the record again tonight. In my own case, my secretarial assistant Aoife Breslin is often found digging through school and Department websites as she tries to the bottom of the lack of school places in the area of Kildare South where I live. She does this to try to assist me in my work, rather than doing what a secretarial assistant might normally be expected to do. The role of secretarial assistant is an extension of what we do and how we are viewed by those who contact our offices. This is because our assistants are more often than not the first point of contact for people who contact our offices. It is safe to say that the rates of pay bear little or no correlation to the real value of the work. More importantly, they bear no resemblance to the work that secretarial assistants carry out.

It is great to see that so many people want to get involved at the secretarial assistant rate and want to get involved at that level of politics. It is important to say that many of our secretarial assistants will replace us in these Houses over the coming years. It is also important to say that they are not getting paid a reasonable rate. There is no reason for low pay in this sector. There is certainly no reason for the starting level of pay. Many secretarial assistants would have to wait a considerable length of time - it has been estimated that it would take up to 18 years - to receive a level of remuneration that would reflect what we expect of them. Added to that is the job insecurity which is tied to a Member's performance in the general election or indeed a Seanad election. I am sure many people on the outside world would describe our valued assistants as being brave people for wanting to take on such a role.

I thank my Labour Party colleagues Chloe Manahan, Alan Murphy, Stuart Allen and Peter Horgan for their considerable work in highlighting this matter since 2018, and for continuing to push for resolution along with my union, SIPTU. As others have said, with only one person working for each of us in the Seanad there can be no doubt that the workload of those working for Senators is considerably more than the workload of those who work so hard in Deputies' offices. Having worked for ten years as a parliamentary assistant, I am more aware of that fact. I am more aware of the work that is being carried out by my own secretarial assistant.

In responding to the Minister’s contribution today and his reply to last week's Commencement matter in the Seanad, I have written to the commission to seek its approval for the proposal that he has sought from the commission. I would like the Minister to outline the nature of that proposal. I am informed that it will be discussed at the next meeting, which I believe will take place next Monday. That is the core of the issue. The commission wants to know exactly what the position is. I take on board what Senator Wilson said on confidentiality. I am not going to say anything other than that. The commission wants to solve this as well as the Minister does. We are all in the same boat. We need the wording and we need it quickly. I look forward to that happening in the quickest possible time in the new year. It is an embarrassment that cannot continue to go on, as I said at a recent briefing we got from SIPTU. I look forward to playing my part in this regard in the short time I have left on the commission. I also look forward to seeing the Minister play his part, as he has been asked to do.