Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform for coming to the House this morning.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I thank the Minister for coming to the House to take this matter. He clearly regards it as important. When I first took my seat in 2014, I was immediately aware of the job of Seanad secretarial assistant, SA, and that it bore little resemblance to the work that SAs actually do. That was confirmed in a survey in 2017, which showed that Seanad SAs do the same work as parliamentary assistants in the Dáil. They undertake research, speech-writing, preparing newsletters and briefing papers and preparing material for committees, among other things. Not only is the job of an SA a misnomer, the pay does not compensate for the work they undertake. SAs currently earn €24,423 per year or €11.75 per hour. That would qualify an SA with one child to avail of working family payment from social welfare to supplement their income.

To add insult to injury, it currently takes 18 years to reach the maximum point on the SA scale on contracts that are fixed purpose and that do not exceed five years in duration. We are bringing all these passionate, highly educated and incredibly loyal people to assist us as legislators on temporary contracts with long working hours and we are paying them well below the living wage. In any other sector, we would be accused of gross exploitation and rightly vilified for this as a result.

What is even worse is that we, the employers of SAs, have no control over their terms and conditions. The Minister is the only person who can successfully address the issue. In 2018, SIPTU lodged a pay claim on behalf of SAs which called for the introduction of the parliamentary assistant scale for the Seanad and compensation for the SA scale so that staff in the Dáil are rewarded for the essential work they do in the Oireachtas. In 2019, I and other colleagues from across the House passed a motion calling on the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform to meet with the staff union representing this group as a matter of urgency. It is now 2021 and no meeting has ever taken place. I appreciate there have been many emergency issues in the meantime.

This year, assistants in both the Dáil and Seanad were offered a pay increase of 1% in October, 1% in February 2022 and 1% in October 2022. That would bring their salaries to €25,162 per year or €12.09 per hour, which is still below the living wage. This was not acceptable and was rejected totally by the staff and their union, SIPTU. More importantly, it failed to address the fundamental issue that the role of an SA has evolved to the level of a parliamentary assistant and that the Dáil and Seanad have completely different roles. If a Seanad SA loses his or her job after an election, having the job of SA on a CV completely misrepresents the work they have done.

Earlier this year, the Ceann Comhairle relaunched the form on a family friendly and inclusive Parliament, which is an excellent initiative. However, we know that it is impossible to attract a diverse workforce and create truly inclusive workplaces without considering the factors that will encourage retention. I strongly believe salary transparency, pay equity and equal pay for equal work are the fundamental cornerstones in building an inclusive culture in the Oireachtas. SAs acquire a vast amount of proprietary knowledge very quickly and we should be doing everything we can to retain them. Instead, we are exploiting them while they are here.

I know that the Cabinet agreed to publish the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021, which will provide €462.5 million to run the Dáil and Seanad for the next three years. It would be shameful if every aspect of the running of the Parliament was adequately funded except for the people on whom so many of us depend, who are the powerhouses in our offices and whose loyalty is beyond question. As a former leader of a trade union, I could never stand over people being paid different rates for the same work. When I came here, the terms for a Senator had changed as a result of a statutory instrument. As a result, I was not able to avail of the traditional part-time work in the Seanad and part-time work in a traditional occupation. It became a full-time job for me and, as such, I am entitled to the same supports as any full-time Member of the Oireachtas. Without my SA, Jean Webster, my office would not run. I would simply be neutered and unable to do anything. From that point of view I am asking the Minister today to reverse our current position.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I again thank the Minister for coming into the House this morning to discuss this issue.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Craughwell for raising this issue and I thank the Cathaoirleach for giving me the opportunity to address it in the House.

As a Member of the Oireachtas for more than 14 years, I am deeply conscious and appreciative of the extraordinary work carried out by all of our support staff. I see this work up close day in, day out, and know that I, for one, could not do the job I do without the selfless dedication and commitment I get from my own staff. I have no doubt the same is true for every Member of this House, as Senator Craughwell has noted in his own case. I also acknowledge that the nature of the work carried out by our staff, which in the case of Senators means their SAs is unique. They have to deal with a multifaceted set of issues every day and their role extends far beyond providing what might be generally termed secretarial support.

The role of an SA is very different now to what it was even a decade ago in light of the rapid changes in the way we communicate and interact with the people we represent. I am also deeply aware that they do not enjoy job security and, in many instances, they will no longer have work once the Member they work for is not re-elected or retires. Being a politician or working for a politician has many benefits, principally the enjoyment and satisfaction we get from helping people and making a difference, but job security is not one of them.

To deal with the specific issue at hand, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003 provides a limited role for the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform in determining pay and superannuation arrangements for secretarial and parliamentary assistants employed under the scheme of secretarial assistance. Under the Act, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission has the power to regulate the provision of secretarial facilities to Members and qualifying parties. This function transferred from the Minister for Finance on the establishment of the commission on 1 January 2004. The term "secretarial facilities" is not defined in legislation but is generally taken to be a wide term encompassing the staff employed under the scheme for secretarial assistance, as well as ICT equipment, office equipment, printing facilities and graphic design services. SAs, parliamentary assistants, administrative assistants, administrators and chefs de cabinet are employed by Members and by qualifying parties but are paid by the commission. The commission also regulates the number of staff employed under the scheme and has oversight of the operation of the scheme.

Under the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission Act 2003, the commission must obtain the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform before reaching an agreement with any person in respect of rates of pay, conditions of employment or superannuation rights. In practice, this means that the commission advises on matters relating to resourcing, grading and terms and conditions of employment and submits proposals for the Minister's consideration and agreement. In other words, the commission makes a proposal to me, as Minister, on issues such as grading, salary rates and so on, and I then make a decision on that proposal, having consulted with my officials. In that regard, I am aware that there is a process under way at the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, dealing with various issues, including alignment with the current public service pay agreement Building Momentum, between the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and SIPTU. This is an issue I would like to see resolved and that is an important political signal for me as Minister to give in this House this morning. I look forward to a successful resolution of the matter and early presentation of proposals for my agreement, in line with my role under the legislation.

Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for outlining many of the issues relating to this matter. As Senator Craughwell noted, we, as Senators, would not be able to do our jobs without our SAs. Grace Coyle in my office has been involved in drafting legislation and in negotiating with Ministers and special advisers to make sure the work we wanted done in relation to policy and the Irish Sign Language Act got done. It is a misnomer to describe someone as a secretarial assistant in this day and age because the job has evolved so much.

Gerard Craughwell (Independent)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for his input. SAs will be aware of the fact that I am here and that this matter is before the House morning. If I am not misinterpreting what the Minister said, once the commission makes up its mind and comes to him with a proposal he will be willing to look at it and is anxious to have this matter resolved as quickly as possible. Going back to my time as a teacher, a union activist and the president of a union, it always annoyed me terribly that the State was the most difficult body of all to deal with when it came to resolving matters before the WRC or the Labour Court. I recall on one occasion having to go to the courts against an education authority in order to get enforcement. The Cathaoirleach is a member of the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission. I hope that this matter will go before the commission at its next meeting, that a proposal will go to the Minister before Christmas and that we will have this matter resolved once and for all. Failing that, I will try my damnedest in the new year to ensure that no legislation is dealt with in this House until this matter is addressed. It is more than three years since I discussed this at the commission. It is absolutely ridiculous that, three years later, we have to invite the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform into the House to try to resolve the matter. That said, I appreciate him coming here this morning and I think what he has said is positive. I look forward to the commission acting on his input.

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Senator. I also acknowledge the Cathaoirleach's comments. I should have said that this issue has been raised with me by him and many of his colleagues from across the floor of the Seanad in recent times. My understanding is that both parties, that is, the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission and SIPTU, have written to the WRC and want to go back to the WRC for negotiations. That is what now needs to happen. I welcome that and look forward to that happening.

The Senator mentioned the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission (Amendment) Bill 2021. I will be here in the next week or two to deal with that. It provides for a significant increase in the resources of the Oireachtas of more than €40 million across the next three years. That is an increase of almost 10%, which is needed and which will be used for a variety of different purposes.

What I want to do this morning is clearly set out what my role is under the legislation. My role is to give consent to a proposal that is put to me by the commission. The commission is the entity that is directly involved in the negotiations. I have given a clear political signal and that is significant. I have looked at the proposal that was put on the table in September and there is a lot of merit in it. The realignment with public sector norms is important. Even under the existing terms of Building Momentum, while the increases on 1 October 2021 and 1 October 2022 are 1% in headline terms, they also involve a minimum of €500 each time. For somebody at the bottom of the pay scale, that is 2% each time. There is also the 1% from the sectoral bargaining fund on 1 February.

An element from the previous agreement is also on the table. It relates to the issue of incremental credits in order that people can start further up the pay scale and so on. There is a lot in that but it is not for me to get into the detail of it. I have given a signal for the commission to engage intensively with SIPTU in the normal industrial relations channels at the WRC and I stand ready with my officials to consider any proposal that is put to us. I hope that will happen sooner rather than later.