Frances Black (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As a woman, a musician and a politician, the stories that have come out about the harassment, bullying and mistreatment have had a deep impact on me. I am thankful I never experienced abusive treatment during my own music career. I was surrounded by many caring and protective people, including members of my family. I felt very safe but it is sad to say I was probably one of the lucky ones. It is sad to think that way; even though I was safe, I was just one of the lucky ones. It is heartbreaking to hear about young creative people who have been deprived of their ability to be creative because of this awful abuse and cruelty. Everyone deserves the right to creative expression and a dignified and safe workplace; these rights are absolutely non-negotiable.

I commend the Minister, Deputy Catherine Martin, and her officials highly on the launch of the Safe to Create programme. She is deeply committed to the welfare of artists and has fought hard for us within the Government. I thank her personally for that. I am certain many of the supports made available under this programme, particularly the helpline, access to legal advice and the anonymous reporting system, will really make a difference to people who are struggling. It is good and really powerful to see the Government commit to action in this area but more needs to be done. I can safely say there is no better woman for the job than the Minister.

A few weeks ago, I attended the launch of the new report of the Joint Committee on Tourism, Culture, Arts, Sport and Media, entitled A Safe and Respectful Working Environment in the Arts. It is a powerful document and I commend my colleague, Senator Warfield, and everyone who worked on it. The report is enriched by the powerful testimony of witnesses representing organisations such as Safe Arts of Ireland, Fair Plé and the Irish Theatre Institute among many others and it contains a number of tangible, practical recommendations to guide the Government as it takes further steps to deal with these issues. One of the key recommendations of the report is conditioning public arts funding on adherence to anti-harassment and workplace dignity protocols designed to protect artists and creatives from abuse and to ensure people alleging mistreatment are treated with care and respect. This is something the Government can do to ensure the safety of arts workers. Public funding for the arts is vital but it can be used as an effective means of making change in fields and institutions that can be resistant to change.

A common feature of many of the stories we have heard about abuse and mistreatment in the arts sector is the role that people’s precarious employment relationships and finances have played in preventing them from coming forward or from leaving abusive situations. We need to combat the racist, sexist and homophobic ideology contributing to abuse and harassment, but we also need to combat the inequality and precarity underpinning it. People in desperate positions struggle to make their voices heard. People working in the arts fear they will be blacklisted if they speak out and an already uncertain career will be rendered totally unviable. If we want to empower people to stand up and resist mistreatment, one way this could be done is by expanding the basic income for artists pilot scheme; ensuring the effective and confidential resolution of complaints; combating predatory precarious work in the sector; and ensuring victims of workplace bullying or sexual harassment have access to justice. Access to justice is a constitutional right and we all know that but has it been adequately vindicated in this area?Workplace bullying and sexual harassment cases are largely dealt with in the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. Aggrieved workers can take cases without the need for legal representation, as there is no provision in our civil legal aid regime for representation at the WRC. This has been spun as increasing the accessibility of justice, but it is not. The institutions and the firms these workers are seeking justice from come to the WRC with a legal team in tow. The equality of arms that has been central to our common law understanding of justice is totally lost. A review of the civil legal aid regime is ongoing. This is a major issue that needs to be addressed if we want to tackle bullying, harassment and abuse in the workplace across all sectors. That is just by the way.

I am very glad to see the first steps that are being taken in this area. It speaks volumes about the passion and determination of the activists but also the Minister's own passion and determination, which I warmly welcome. The activists got the ball rolling and the Minister has shown a willingness to listen and to act. We now need to harness this momentum to truly protect artists, creatives and all workers. I again thank the Minister and her officials for the great work they have done. I know they have done phenomenal work.