Fórsa has made a submission to Ireland’s Independent Covid-19 evaluation highlighting the essential contribution of the union and its members during the pandemic and calling for a permanent return to structured social dialogue in national policymaking.   

As Ireland’s largest public service union, Fórsa and its members were critical to the national response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fórsa’s policy and research officer, Aisling Cusack, said: “Fórsa members, and their commitment to public service, were essential to the overall contribution to the crisis response. They were relied upon to deliver state supports and keep the country afloat. Without their cooperation and commitment, the Government’s capacity to respond would have been significantly reduced.” 

Fórsa members implemented key income supports such as the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) and the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS), processing hundreds of thousands of claims within weeks. For example, the PUP was announced on 16 March 2020, and by 30 March 2020, 283,000 people had been approved for receipt of the payment. This was the equivalent to a 19-month caseload in normal times.  

At the same time, many public servants were swiftly redeployed to essential services and high-need areas from healthcare to social protection, where their work was essential to containing the spread of the virus and supporting vulnerable communities.   

The union’s submission also centred on a call to embed social dialogue as a permanent feature of national policymaking, citing the Covid-19 emergency response as an example of successful tripartite policy development and effective implementation. 

Fórsa’s general secretary Kevin Callinan said: “Our experience during Covid – 19 demonstrates that, even in times of unprecedented crisis, social dialogue can deliver innovative policy solutions to address national problems. Tripartite policymaking should also exist outside of a crisis, to help resolve ongoing issues and find solutions where communities have been failed.” 

“Despite the successful outcomes of social dialogue during Covid-19, once the immediate danger of the virus receded, the Government returned to its old ways and quickly began to reprioritise markets over communities, neglecting to meaningfully engage with workers.” 

Based on structured interviews with senior union officials, the submission highlights that pandemic responses were more effective, trusted, and equitable where structured social dialogue united unions, employers, and the government.  

This extensive stakeholder engagement correlated with the effectiveness and appropriateness of the response, as well as public acceptance of, and adherence to, government policies. 

Fórsa’s submission also recommended the Government move away from its economic model which prioritises privatisation, short-termism, and chronic underinvestment in public services. Instead, it called for the adoption of a proactive and progressive economic strategy that would deliver better quality of life for workers and build stronger communities. 

You can find Fórsa’s full submission to the evaluation here.

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