At the recent civil service divisional conference held this May, a motion was brought forward by the DSP Executive Grades branch, calling for an allowance for press officers in all government departments to take overtime into account. 

The motion was remitted, to be reviewed by the incoming divisional executive committee (DEC).  

The DEC sought remittal of the motion due to inconsistencies in the information available on remuneration for extra attendance, being on-call and time off in lieu (TOIL) and committed to undertaking further research. 

Fórsa official Catriona Oates is now conducting this research, and she is looking to hear from press officers from all government departments to build a clearer picture of the different arrangements in place.  

She said: “We want to hear from as many press officers as possible. It is unfair and unjust that press officers of the same grade, doing the same work across the Civil Service, are dependent on local arrangements for remuneration for this role. Being on-call, often at weekends, is required for press officers and this must be taken into account.” 

If branches are aware of press officers in their workplace, they should share this story with them and ask them to contact us. 

If you are a press officer and would like to have input into this research, please email coates@forsa.ie.  

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