Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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1305. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of part-time, fixed term, zero hour, short-term and unpaid contracts that exist in each university, institute of technology and technological university across all institutions under the remit of the HEA in tabular form. [19004/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The HEA have collated data from the sector on the numbers of occasional hourly paid administrative, teaching and support staff and the Department is reviewing the data to gain a better understanding of the practices.

The Department has engaged with representative bodies of the Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) and been advised that there are a number of factors that would lead HEIs to engage the services of temporary or casual teaching staff. These may include short-term replacement for sick leave and other leave, new activities, growth in student numbers, diverse sources of funding, or philanthropic activity. Those with full-time jobs elsewhere in the private and public sector are sometimes used in the sector in hourly-paid positions as a way of bringing current expertise into the lecture theatre or tutorial room. We are also advised that some staff are engaged as exam invigilators, specialist staff such as industry leaders, visiting lectures or to provide temporary cover at short notice due to staff absences.

In line with the Universities Act, 1997, third-level institutions have autonomy in relation to human resource policies, subject to compliance with Government policy in respect of employment numbers and pay policy. Employers in the higher education sector are also required to operate in accordance with the provisions of national industrial relations agreements. In the event that a union has specific concerns regarding work and contract conditions among staff in any third level institution, that union can seek to have the matter addressed using the dispute resolution procedures provided for in the Haddington Road Agreement, and any individuals who have issues of dispute have a variety of dispute resolution options open to them.

The Cush Report is specific to concerns raised about part-time and fixed-term employment in lecturing.

It is important to acknowledge that there can be objective conditions for the employment of an individual on a fixed term basis such as for example, for the completion of a specific task or project or for the temporary replacement of an academic seconded to a leadership role for the period. Nevertheless the recommendations of the Cush Report to avoid unnecessary use of extended temporary contracts are clear.

The sector has noted that occasional hourly paid staff are not used to fill positions where permanent whole-time staff would be employed.