Directly hiring broadcast staff for Oireachtas not 'value for money', PAC told
The Oireachtas parliamentary schedule requires 59 camera operators shifts each week.
The Oireachtas has played down the prospect of directly hiring broadcast staff as civil servants, with a briefing provided to TDs saying it would not provide “value for money” to taxpayers.
In a letter to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Dáil clerk Peter Finnegan provides a briefing note to TDs about the possible cost of directly hiring broadcast staff as civil servants.
According to the briefing, it would cost €3.98m per year to directly hire all the Oireachtas broadcast staff on a full-time basis — 25 in total.
However, the note highlights this is based on salaries advertised within the sector, adding that details of staff salaries are not available.
In their own letter to the PAC, part-time staff members have disputed some details of the report. The say there are 13 part-time staff, which can be supplemented with freelancers when required.
They highlighted their salaries are not set at the industry-standard pay rates, particularly citing the fact they are not provided with income supports while the Dáil and Seanad are not sitting.
The staff calculated their total salaries cost the company €169,000 in 2024, while the yearly value of Pi Communication’s contract, inclusive of Vat, is approximately €1.77m.
“This relatively low proportion of expenditure allocated to staffing — the principal operational cost — highlights a broader concern regarding value for money,” they write.
The letter adds the contractor overseeing Oireachtas broadcast services, Pi Communications, continues to receive public funds while the Oireachtas is not in session, alongside having equipment provided for them.
The group has said, while the Oireachtas is in recess, part-time staff are often required to rely on State welfare supports.
The Oireachtas parliamentary schedule requires 59 camera operators shifts each week. Across the 35 sitting weeks each year, the report says this leads to between 2,000 and 2,500 shifts each year.
It adds employing staff directly would increase the number of shifts to 6,240 per year, which will lead to under-employment for “considerable periods” and would not provide “value for money”.
Despite this, there have been calls for the workers to be directly employed by the State, both by part-time staff as well as TDs and senators.
Labour senator Nessa Cosgrove, who is also the party’s workers' rights spokesperson, said the employment status of part-time broadcast staff is “deeply concerning”.
“These workers provide an essential public service, it is of the utmost importance for transparency that voters can clearly see what is happening in the Oireachtas," Ms Cosgrove
In a statement, Pi Communications said: “For the avoidance of doubt, rates of pay of all part-time staff supporting this contract are regularly benchmarked against industry norms and their total earnings are proportionate to the overall work undertaken throughout the year.
“All staff have pension entitlements, receive holiday pay, sick leave, and sick pay. They are also free to work on other projects or for other employers, and most do.”
