The Oireachtas Business Committee has decided against increasing Dáil activity while Level Five public health restrictions remain in place. The decision follows correspondence from unions sent yesterday (Thursday) to each member of the cross-party committee, which is to review the issue on 12th April.
Fórsa, which represents around 200 members in clerical, executive, Dáil usher and other grades, raised concerns about workplace safety in the houses of the Oireachtas in January. Along with the AHCPS, the union said only essential functions should take place on site, and that Dáil committee contributions should be made remotely.
Level Five public health advice is that people should not attend workplaces unless they are delivering an essential service and their presence in the workplace is necessary for the service to be provided.
The head of Fórsa’s Civil Service Division, Derek Mullen, said the unions had previously advised there should be a reduction in activity levels in the Houses of the Oireachtas. “This reduction should operate in conjunction with a maximisation of remote participation and working from home,” he said.
In the letter sent to members of the committee yesterday, the unions said they were aware of a pending decision to increase the sitting hours in the Houses of the Oireachtas.
“Any increase in hours will inevitably result in more meetings, which means additional support and committee staff, who are all members of both our unions, and who will have to attend the workplace to facilitate all of this with the added health risk which arises.
“There should be no ambiguity on this point, an increased presence on site will increase risk for all those in attendance,” it said.
Fórsa official Una Faulkner said the union correspondence had been read into the meeting of the committee yesterday. The committee subsequently announced its decision to maintain current levels of activity until the April review.
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