Nuashonruithe agus faisnéis ón mBord Bainistíochta don fhoireann
Last updated: 10 Feb 14:00
Dear all,
This has been a short week due to the inaugural Bank Holiday on Monday. I hope you all enjoyed the time off granted by virtue of the celebration of the Feast of Saint Bridget. Unusually, we now celebrate two saints in February—St Valentine’s Day is next week. His association with Dublin is well documented and his remains can be found in a shrine in Whitefriar Street Church. The story is now well known as to how that came to be. In 1835, John Spratt, an Irish Carmelite priest was visiting Rome and such was his fame that he received many tokens of esteem from his hosts. One such token came from Pope Gregory XVI who gave him the remains of Saint Valentine which he then brought back to Dublin.
The legend of St Valentine lives on and is celebrated across the world. However, we are broadening it out a bit this year. St. Valentine’s Day, Palentine’s Day (for friends) and Galentine’s Day (for female friendships) are all happening next week—the latter two are on 13 February—and they will be marked by the reopening of our pop-up shop at the Coffee Dock. Our OWL trainees are partnering with the Catering Unit to run the shop. So if you are in need of a lift or a gift next week drop by and show your support.
The CSO announced this week that our population has grown to over 5.1 million. Across Ireland today we see those changes in our communities. Equally within Leinster House in our parliamentary community we also see those changes. We now have staff from the UK, France, Poland, Belorussia, Ukraine, Japan, Finland, Italy, Pakistan and Greece to name but a few. All of these colleagues are valued and bring with them new and different perspectives which add to our performance. Multiculturalism is part of the new Ireland and is to be welcomed wherever it is to be found.
The Ceann Comhairle is heading to Japan next week to meet the Speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Councillors. He will also meet with members of the Irish community and review various Irish Japanese joint projects. It is an important bilateral relationship and one which is supported by an active Friendship Group who met recently with the newly appointed Japanese Ambassador to Ireland.
Mar fhocal deiridh tugtar cuireadh duit a bheithi latháir ag Maidin Chaife so Phroinnseomra Priobháideach ag 11.00 am ar an 15 Feabhra. The Irish Language Circle is arranging another coffee morning to promote the use of the language. It is a great opportunity to practice speaking so it would be nice to see it supported again as it was last month.
As always, enjoy your weekend with family and friends and we will talk to you again next week.
Peter
03 Feb 15:15
It has been a busy week but I am sure you are all looking forward to the long weekend and a short week next week. The Bank Holiday is a new one in the calendar and marks feast of Saint Brigid, Ireland’s female patron saint. For centuries St. Brigid’s Day has been celebrated on the first day of February or the first day of Spring and marks the reawakening of nature and the countryside at the end of winter. Some say she is the Christianisation of the Celtic goddess Brigid, who was celebrated at the festival of Imbolc or Imbolg which is about halfway between the winter solstice and the spring equinox. As part of the lead up to the feast day, the Parliamentary Women’s Caucus hosted a drop-in St. Brigid’s Cross workshop with demonstrations by students from Scoil Bhríde National School, Athgarvan. I saw a huge number of people carrying their self-made crosses and it seems like something that people really enjoyed. In the Chamber both the Ceann Comhairle and Taoiseach wore St. Brigid’s crosses on their lapels and there was a Pause for Peace before business started.
Yesterday, we had an address to a Joint Sitting of the Houses by Ms Roberta Metsola, President of the European Parliament. This was done on the basis of an invitation from the Ceann Comhairle to President Metsola and was agreed by the Business Committee. It was a really important occasion as she marked the 50th anniversary of Ireland’s membership of the EU and the transformation of the Irish economy and social conditions over that time and reaffirmed support for Ukraine. I wish to thank all of those involved in organising the event which was timed perfectly to run to the second. In particular, I wish to thank Sheila Ryan, our Head of Protocol and her team, Alan Ruane and his team and Conor Reale who organised a really interesting and lovely exchange in the Library Reading Room between the President and the female students of Maryfield College, Dublin. As time for the visit was very tight, I should also mention the excellent work done by John Walsh and the catering team in serving lunch so quickly, calmly and efficiently as always. Our teams working together really show off the House, and our work, really well to visitors and the viewing public.
Just on some housekeeping, you will have seen the email from HR on the reintroduction of flexitime. There are some positive improvements for staff in these changes. With effect from the next flexi period:
- staff who were on the Blended Working Flexitime Pilot which ended on 6th January 2023, may resume the pilot until further notice, and may continue to accumulate time whether working at home or in the office; it is expected that the pilot will continue until the end of March.
- all other eligible staff (who were not on the Blended Working Flexitime Pilot) may accumulate time on the days when they attend the office. Please note that it is the responsibility of local line managers to ensure that time for flexi-leave purposes has been accumulated when in the office as HR staff do not have access to this information; and
- in either of the above cases, staff may now accumulate 11.5 hours per flexi period. The maximum amount of flexi leave allowed in any flexi period is one and a half days, subject to the normal rules covering flexi-leave.
The Attendance Leave Policy will be updated next week to take account of these changes.
As always and in particular over the Bank Holiday weekend take time to enjoy some activities with family and friends and we will talk to you again next week.
Peter
27 Jan 15:55
January is always a difficult month to negotiate but as we come to the end of the first full week back I think that we are all unwinding into the new year and wondering what it will bring for us and indeed for our families and friends. And while we can’t exactly say that there is a stretch in the evenings, it is definitely brightening up a bit more every day and summer holiday plans might even start to be thought about. For us it is also the start of the political and parliamentary year and we can anticipate that it will probably continue as it began - with robust debate and a lot of hard effort by all of our teams.
With that in mind we have been reviewing our Time and Attendance Policy with a view to bring it more in tune with staff and business needs. The policy has been updated and revised in line with Revision of Working Hours Circular 14.2022 and it also implements the recommendations from the Forum on a Family Friendly and Inclusive Parliament around providing more flexibility in managing long working hours.
The standard working hours of the Service will now be 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday and core hours will be 10.30am to 3.30pm with a minimum working day of 5 hours. These changes are aimed at allowing those who work long hours certain days to be able to work down those hours while providing more flexibility to management to avoid the accumulation of large excesses by staff while still meeting business needs. The policy has been emailed out to staff by HR and is also available on The Plinth.
Yesterday, the graduates from the 2018–2019 and 2019–2021 OWL programmes met on site as a group for the first time in the Members Restaurant. The purpose of the meeting was to set up a network of graduates who can provide peer support to each other as they progress in their careers both in the Civil Service and other industries. The network is going to meet 3 to 4 times per year and will be supported by the EDI Team and the OWL Programme partners KARE and WALK. We would like to thank all the Catering Team for the wonderful reception and spread they put on for the group.
Earlier in the week the team working on the OWL programme attended the nominee day for the Civil Service Excellence and Innovation Awards in Collins Barracks. The OWL Training and Graduate Programme has been shortlisted for this year’s awards in the category of Workplace and Organisation of the Future. We wish everyone involved the very best of luck at the awards ceremony on 30 March in Dublin Castle.
And a final note on housekeeping, our Health and Wellbeing Group do great work in organising speakers. They will be resuming their programme of events in 2023. You can now see their upcoming events through the Fios learning management system and from the Health and Wellbeing Events page on Fios, you can now enrol for them and watch previously recorded sessions. The first event for 2023 calendar was on Financial Planning for Retirement given by John Lowe of moneydoctors.ie, and is well worth a look if you missed the webinar.
Before I close, I would like to point out that today is UN International Holocaust Memorial Day when we remember the suffering of the Jewish community. The theme this year of "Home and Belonging” aims to highlight the humanity of the Holocaust victims and survivors, who had their home and sense of belonging changed utterly during the Holocaust. I would also like to let you know that at the Business Committee yesterday the Ceann Comhairle got agreement to schedule time in the House for a debate on 23 February to mark the one year anniversary of the Russian invasion on the 24 February 2023. The purpose of the debate will be to raise public awareness of the terrible effects of this war.
As always remember to spend time with family and friends and we will talk to you again next week
Fanaigí slán
Peter
20 Jan 15:08
I hope you all had a good break with family and friends over the Christmas period. There was a lot more people around LH this week so many people are back in the office again and hard at work. I have heard of a lot of people who picked up Covid or RSV infections over the last few weeks. With that in mind, I would urge you to continue to protect your colleagues and the more vulnerable in your circle of friends and acquaintances. You should not come to work if you have any symptoms of COVID-19 or other respiratory infections and, of course, we continue to advise that you take the normal hand hygiene and other precautions.
This first week back has seen a new Taoiseach take Leader’s Questions, and we had our first vote on the Order of Business and some robust debate. The President of the European Parliament will make an important address to a joint sitting on Thursday 2 February and preparations are ongoing to ensure the success of that engagement. The Seanad resumes next week under the new Cathaoirleach Senator Jerry Buttimer and we wish him well in his new role. And, of course, Committees continue as always to play a huge part in scrutiny of government, and in civil engagement.
From time to time we mention staff who have retired and on this occasion I want to wish John Cunningham well in his retirement. John, who retired on the 29 December was a recent member of staff having joined us as a Services Officer in 2019 after a career in Eircom, Brown Thomas, and the British Army. Ever polite and decent, he was a huge asset for the Reception Team in dealing with visitors to Kildare House. His good humour and demeanour will be missed by his colleagues.
Towards the end of last year we released our first Gender Pay Gap report for the Houses of the Oireachtas Service (in Irish and English). The mean gender pay gap for the Service for the period 30 June 2021 to 29 June 2022 was -3.56%, while the median gender pay gap for the same period was -5.62%. The gender pay gap is the difference in the average hourly wage of men and women across a workforce, and this includes basic pay, allowances and overtime. Where the gender pay gap is negative, this indicates that, on average, males are in a less favourable position than females. I note that we are one of the few public or private bodies to have a negative pay gap. Such reports are only possible because staff complete the relevant surveys. I would like to thank everyone who completed the self-identification form in preparation for the report. For those who haven’t already completed the form to indicate their expressed gender, the links are still live (English Version or Irish version) and you can complete the form at any time.
On some housekeeping matters; bhí Ciorcal Comhrá Gaeilge againn sa Phroinnseomra Príobháideach inné a d’eagraigh an Rannóg mar mhaidin chaife. Ócáid an-taitneamhach a bhí inti a tharraing aird ar an gcuspóir atá againn Oireachtas dátheangach a bhaint amach. Molaim daoibh a bheith ag faire amach d’ócáidí eile dá leithéid amach anseo; yesterday we had an Irish Language Conversation Circle coffee morning in the Private Dining Room organised by an Rannóg. It was a lovely event and it draws attention to our objective of moving towards becoming a bilingual parliament. I would encourage you to keep an eye out for future such events. On Monday, HR hosted a seminar on Pilot Your Day Training which dealt with the concept of self-regulation. The training is being organised by the University of Limerick and a series of surveys will be undertaken anonymously as part of the programme. The purpose of the training, which is voluntary, is to bring self-regulation strategies to your attention for use in your everyday and in your work life, to help you organise yourself and to work effectively and in a goal-oriented manner. An online training course is being provided so if you are interested please let HR know. Over 145 people attended the call on Monday and the recording is available on the Plinth.
As always, enjoy your weekend with family and friends and we will talk again next week.
Fanaigí slán
Peter
15 Dec 16:30
Tomorrow will be the final sitting day of this year. It has been a tremendously busy and productive year — we dealt with Covid-19, welcomed many new staff, said goodbye to former colleagues, organised Seanad 100 ceremonies and other public engagement events, brought new services online in our Digital Transformation programme, and heard from Presidents Zelenskyy and von der Leyen. All of this on top of our normal work in providing services to members, supporting proceedings and Committee meetings, and dealing with Bills, PQs, etc. I wish to sincerely thank you all for the immense service you give every working day and sometimes beyond that, for your hard work throughout the year and especially for the sense of commitment, good humour and team spirit that you all bring to the parliamentary community through your efforts.
Arrangements are being finalised for the sitting tomorrow to nominate a Taoiseach and a new government. We know the broad outline of the day in that it will run from 10.30 am to 1pm with a SOS for four hours and further business from 5 – 7.10 pm. I wish to thank the staff who will be working on site or from home to support the sitting. I know that many of you have had to rearrange family activities to do the work involved and I am especially grateful to you all for doing so in this time of family celebration.
On Monday we had a ceremonial sitting in the Dáil chamber to commemorate 100 years of Seanad Éireann. Dr John Bowman delivered a reflection address on the history of the Seanad and this was followed by a formal sitting and address by the Taoiseach. The chamber was packed with members and former Senators, with members of the judiciary in the Distinguished Visitor’s Gallery and with the Diplomatic Corps in the Public Gallery. It was a really special event with introductory music by Harpist Mary Kelly and a piece by Uilleann Piper Eamonn Walsh to finish. I wish to thank Martin Groves and his cross service team for organising the event and the OPW for dressing the Chamber so beautifully. Thanks also to the Royal Irish Academy for lending us the Stopford Green Casket which was on display and added so much to the ceremony.
In the Dáil on Tuesday this week, in what has become a very nice tradition, the Taoiseach happily confirmed that Irish airspace would be cleared for Santa on Christmas Eve. However, we know that our special Santa is already hard at work with his elves organising our own traditional children’s day in the Houses next week, on Friday 23 December. We know this because of our handsome wise, kind and generous special Santa (for the purposes of this update and in his own words, no less, let’s call him Noelle) will be welcoming children to his secret grotto in the Houses, and making sure that they will be kept very busy with selection boxes, face painting and other wonderful activities – thanks to the great Noelle and his helpers (and those who have done so over the years gone by) who always make this a brilliant family day for us all.
On Wednesday, 14 December we observed National Irish Sign Language Day. It is little known but this day marks the 5th anniversary since the passing of the Irish Sign Language Act 2017 in the Houses. Since that time we have really strengthened our provision of ISL to the Deaf Community thanks to Caroline and Ciara in our ISL Unit under Broadcasting and we can be proud of the role we have played in broadening the use of ISL across our services. The provision of Irish Sign Language will continue to expand in the business of the Houses, and in the broadcasting of Irish political debate and Oireachtas programming. You can read more about Irish Sign Language in the Oireachtas on our website page.
Finally, as always take time to enjoy your break with family and friends and take care with the usual hygiene measures as you gather together to make sure that you protect the most vulnerable around you. Next Tuesday we will have our annual staff Christmas drinks, and I look forward to seeing many of you in the Members’ Restaurant between 4pm and 6pm. And to conclude, may I wish to wish you and your families a very Happy Christmas and a very peaceful and Happy New Year.
Fanaigí slán.
Peter
09 Dec 14:00
There was some Christmas cheer around the Houses this week with the opening of the Christmas shop which is a lovely innovation in the Coffee Dock and the traditional Tree Lighting ceremony on Tuesday. It was great to see everyone out on the Lawn again after a break of two years due to Covid. We had music from the Rathfarnham Ukulele Group and the SeaSharps A Cappella group. The Ceann Comhairle took the opportunity to speak about the ongoing suffering of the people in Ukraine and the needs of the homeless in Dublin and throughout Ireland and he closed with his best wishes for Members and staff for a wonderful Christmas. I would like on your behalf to thank the Public Engagement, Broadcasting, OPW and Usher Teams for their work in ensuring the ceremony went off so successfully.
On Wednesday we had a short ceremony on the Lawn to mark the centenary of the inauguration of Irish Free State. On a cold, bright day the Defence Forces gave an impeccable display which included the showing of the Citizen Army flag, the Irish Republic flag (which flew over the GPO during the Easter Rising), and the ceremonial flag which flew over the GPO for the ceremonial events in 2016. The Taoiseach, the Tánaiste, ministers, members and staff attended and the Ceann Comhairle spoke about the events in 1922 which led to the formation of the State. He mentioned Sean Hales who was shot dead on 7 December 1922 and Pádraig Ó Máille, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle who was wounded, both were on their way to the House. He mentioned also the four prisoners, Liam Mellows, Rory O’Connor, Richard Barrett and Joseph McKelvey who were executed in reprisal. It was a dignified, solemn and low-key ceremony which duly recognised the efforts of all of those who have gone before us in the creation of our modern state. My sincere thanks to Derek Dignam and the Communications team who organised the event at short notice.
Yesterday, the Leas-Cheann Comhairle unveiled a new piece of art which you may have noticed. It is a photographic mosaic with former member of the fourth Dáil Dr. Kathleen Lynn at the centre and images of 100 other women framing and blended into the main image. Dr. Lynn from Mayo was a pioneering paediatrician, a founder of St. Ultan’s Children’s Hospital, was active in the cause of suffrage and was involved in the 1916 Rising as Captain and Chief Medical Officer in the Irish Citizen Army. The 100 women are a combination of key female figures in the War of Independence and of images sent by the public to the artist Mary A Kelly. The piece is now hanging prominently in the main corridor space at the side of the processional staircase to the Dáil Chamber. The suggestion for this piece came from the Arts and Portraiture Working Group which has made a sustained effort to bring more art featuring women—and art by women—to the walls within Leinster House. Further pieces will be unveiled in the coming days as part of the Seanad centenary commemorations.
Continuing in that vein, the Seanad will hold its formal commemorative sitting on Monday, 12 December in the Dáil Chamber. Former Senators, Ministers and the Judiciary will be in attendance. The main addresses will be given by the Cathaoirleach, the Taoiseach and Dr. John Bowman, historian and broadcaster. The ceremony will be carried live on Oireachtas TV. Also, on Monday night at 8pm Oireachtas TV will broadcast the first of a two-part documentary commissioned to commemorate One Hundred Years of Seanad Éireann with the second part being played out on 19 December. Both parts will be available later on the Oireachtas website. The centenary celebrations have been a huge success so far and I am sure that the ceremonial sitting will also be a success given the amount of hard work put in by the various teams to prepare for this day.
The Business Committee agreed the schedule for the sitting on Saturday, 17 December. It will commence at 10.30 am and finish at 7.10 pm. The House will suspend for a SOS between 1-5 pm after the vote for Taoiseach, which is estimated to be at around 12.25 pm. We will provide further information as the week progresses.
I will conclude with a reminder not to come on-site if you have symptoms of Covid-19. There remains a number of steps that will contribute to preventing the spread of Covid-19 in the workplace. Maintaining these steps will also enable workplaces, employers and employees respond quickly should the public health advice change or should Covid-19 levels increase in the future.
- Hand Hygiene – wash your hands regularly with soap and water or use hand sanitiser
- Respiratory Hygiene – cover your coughs and sneezes
- Face Coverings – particularly in crowded areas
The latest information in relation to Covid-19 can be found on the HSE website. Please also read the email from Stacey Golden last Wednesday (7 December 2022).
As always, enjoy your time off with family and friends and we will see one another again next week.
Fanaigí slán,
Peter
02 Dec 15:30
We have had a busy and exciting week in the Houses. The visit of Her Excellency Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission was the highlight of the week. The political messages she laid out in her speech were important for all of us to hear and reinforced in depth the Union’s support for Ireland in terms of economic development, Brexit and the peace process. We were honoured also to have Commissioner Mairéad McGuinness and First Minister designate Michelle O’Neill in attendance which further underlined the importance of this event. As always, these events are planned to perfection but I wish to give special thanks to our Ushers, Protocol, Facilities, and Broadcasting teams, and our sound providers. It was a huge team effort and the hard and detailed preparatory work really paid off.
Tomorrow 3rd December marks International Day of Persons with Disabilities. One the programmes we in the Oireachtas are most proud of is the Oireachtas Work Learning (OWL) Programme, a learning and development programme for people with Intellectual Disabilities. For those of you who have joined most recently, this programme was established as a pilot programme in September 2018 with our programme partners KARE and WALK. Due to its success in the first year the Commission agreed to develop it further. Each year 10 OWL trainees join the Oireachtas and take part in 3 work experience placements between September and June across different sections. To date 20 trainees have graduated from the programme, 12 of whom are now employed on a permanent part time basis across the Civil Service, 4 graduates have been employed in the Houses of the Oireachtas since 2019. The HR and the ED&I Team manage both the training and graduate programme and continue to work with Civil Service Departments to source employment opportunities for future graduates. The Service has produced a short video documenting the experience of the OWL Programme which can be accessed here. I encourage you to take the time to watch it.
You may have seen some of this year’s group of trainees working across the sections; they are - Amy Landers, Barry Higgins, Fionán Malone, Jordan Caffrey, Kirby Hogan, Laura Dempsey, Liam Cronin, Mark Buckley, Stephen O’Connell and Thomas Gartlan. They are supported by Jessica Potter and Jane Courtney (OWL Coordinators). On Thursday the Disability Matters Committee invited the trainees and Coordinators to attend the public meeting to discuss “disability inclusive participation in political and public life” which they all thoroughly enjoyed. Thank you to all the sections who have welcomed trainees on board and we hope this develops further as the programme continues to develop.
I also want to mention the work of the Web Team in striving to ensure the work of the Oireachtas is publicly accessible on our website. When the National Disability Authority spoke before the Disability Matters Committee several weeks ago, they acknowledged our website as a strong performer among the public sector websites they reviewed as part of their web accessibility directive monitoring. However, this work does not stop there. We must continue to focus on our obligations with regard to web accessibility and PDF files, in particular, remain an ongoing issue for us. In the words of the NDA, they ‘are the bane of many people's lives, particularly those with disabilities’. It is possible to produce an accessible PDF, particularly if it starts off its life in MS Word, and the Web Team will be working directly with sections to improve the accessibility of our publications over the coming months. I would be pleased if you could work with the Web Team to ensure we make our work as accessible as possible for all in the wider community.
And finally, as the weather turns colder I want to give a quick reminder to all that by reducing our daily energy use in the office and at home, we can limit our reliance on imported fossil fuels, cut our carbon emissions, and save money. To help reduce energy use in the workplace, we’re asking that we all remember the 3-a-day energy actions:
Power it down – Log off and power down your computer at the end of the day and switch off your monitor.
Switch it off – Switch off lights when the office is unoccupied or there is enough natural light.
Close it up – Keep windows and doors closed when the heating is on and close curtains and blinds before leaving.
To help you reduce your energy usage at home and save money you can follow the SEAI’s energy saving advice and sign up for the SEAI - Reduce Your Use Home Energy Plan.
As always enjoy your weekend with family and friends and we will see you again next week.
Fanaigí slán.
Peter
25 Nov 17:55
This week we marked International Men’s Day which was on 19 November with our hardworking Health and Wellbeing Group organising a webinar on Men’s Health yesterday which covered physical and mental health and some useful Tips for Wellbeing. It was delivered by Sean Cooke, CEO of the Men’s Development Network. The webinar was recorded so if you missed it, you will be able to watch it later. In general, men are less likely to speak or act in relation to health issues and so it is worthwhile highlighting this matter.
We had our usual share of visits during the week and it is always a pleasure to welcome in the diplomatic community. US Ambassador Claire Cronin came in to celebrate Thanksgiving with members of the Ireland US Friendship Group. The US/Ireland bond is very strong and growing and we will continue to build on that relationship. We also received in the Canadian Ambassador Ms Nancy Smyth who was accompanied by Louise B. Halfe, of the Cree Nation and Poet Laureate of the Canadian Parliament, Joseph Naytowhow - Cree knowledge keeper, singer and storyteller and Brian Solomon, Choreographer/ Dancer of Anishinaabe and Irish heritage. These photographs show part of that very enjoyable engagement organised by the Ireland Canada Friendship Group.
Next week we are in full preparation for the visit of Dr. Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission who will be addressing a Joint Sitting of both Houses at 2pm on Thursday 1 December to mark 50 years of Ireland’s membership of the European Union. There will be some restrictions on the day for a few hours. As always we will be in touch with you in advance to let you know what is going on.
Most of you will be aware that the Late Late Toy Show airs tonight, and to coincide with this, the Oireachtas Newsletter ‘Aon Scéal’ Christmas edition was published yesterday. There is plenty of festive fun in this edition which includes lists of the best Christmas markets and pantos to attend around the country, Christmas movies to watch, and even some Christmas crafts to try out at home. There is also information on the imminent Oireachtas Christmas Shop, where hampers, wine, puddings, mince pies and cranberry sauce will be available to purchase soon. The newsletter also looks at the events that have been taking place throughout the year to mark the centenary of the Seanad and Leinster House opening its door to the public on Culture Night. Thanks to the Newsletter team for all their work, as well as the OWL Programme trainees for their contributions and research for this special Christmas edition.
Seanad 100 is drawing to a close. It has been a really successful year full of events and exhibitions. As part of the programme a Seanad 100 newspaper supplement was printed in the Independent. We subsequently added the content of the supplement to our web site. If you have a moment it is worth reading. The major event of the programme will be a ceremonial sitting which will take place in the Dáil Chamber on Monday, 12 December. We will let you know more about that later.
As we come to the weekend, take time to meet with family and friends and perhaps catch some World Cup matches although it has yet to spark into life, and I will see you all next week.
Fanaigí slán.
Peter
18 Nov 17:40
As you may know as part of our Strategic Plan we have set ourselves a range of objectives which we hope will lead us to becoming a more open, engaged and inclusive parliament. And this week there have been several events on and off campus which will help us to realise this aim. We had two really nice events today. In the Library Reading Room, we hosted Child Talks 2022 which is an event organised by the Office of the Ombudsman for Children where a number of young people came to speak about what matters to them. The theme this year is “If I were Taoiseach for the day”. The event was filmed and can found on www.oco.ie. It was a very uplifting event and I wish to thank all those involved in supporting it within the House, in particular, the Library team who let us use the room.
The second event was off-site in Farmleigh at the National Bravery Awards which were presided over by the Ceann Comhairle. These awards recognise individuals who risked their own lives to aid others in peril. The annual honours are awarded by Comhairle na Míre Gaile – the Deeds of Bravery Council – which was founded in 1947 to enable State recognition of exceptional Acts of Bravery. The Council is chaired by the Ceann Comhairle and includes the Cathaoirleach, the Lord Mayors of Dublin and Cork, the Garda Commissioner, the President of the Association of City & County Councils, and the Chairman of the Irish Red Cross. The recipients today were from Carlow, Clare, Donegal, Dublin, Mayo and Wicklow. A huge amount of work goes into the running of the event every year and I would like, in particular, to thank Jason Kiernan and his team for the successful organisation of the event today.
Staying on the theme of openness our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team ran a webinar on Digital Accessibility presented by Inclusion and Accessibility Labs which was very informative and presented current statistics on the number of people in Ireland living with a disability, the main types of disabilities and the barriers they face when using the internet, how technology can be used to overcome these barriers, and how universal design is so important to promote accessibility. Congratulations to the team on picking up on this issue and we look forward to more seminars of this nature in the coming months.
On some housekeeping matters; you will have received an email from Roisin Deery, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Officer earlier this week regarding the Gender Pay Gap Report and the collection of gender data. As this is our first report, we would like to give the most accurate picture of the Service. I would encourage everyone to take a minute before 5pm on Monday to complete the MS Form English version or Irish version. If you have any questions, please contact Roisin at 01 6183034/ Roisin.Deery@oireachtas.ie. Secondly, over 90% of eligible staff have made a Blended Working application which is great news. As I said in my email earlier this week the intention of the policy is to build on the lessons from our collective experiences of the Covid-19 restrictions in a way that strengthens our parliamentary community and to enable us to improve our standards of service. Over the course of next year, we will review its operation and carry out an employee survey to gather the views of staff and to make any changes required. I look forward to engaging with everyone on our blending working arrangements over the coming months and I am confident that together we can ensure its successful implementation in the Service.
We are still looking for volunteers for Member Liaison Officers (MLOs). After every election we appoint MLO’s to help induct new Members into Leinster House. Around 40 MLOs will be needed and the process of identifying MLOs has begun with Principal Officers recently asked to nominate suitably experienced staff for the role. The role of MLOs gives an opportunity to gain valuable insight into the election process. Skills needed to be appointed as an MLO include good communications, a friendly manner and a willingness to go the extra mile for a new Member. If you believe you could successfully undertake the role and are interested in becoming an MLO, please discuss this with your manager and Principal Officer. Nominations by Principal Officers should be sent to ronanoc.oconnor@oireachtas.ie.
Finally, I need to mention Covid-19 again. We have enjoyed a relatively stable period since summer, with case numbers, hospitalisations and ICU rates dropping and remaining relatively low. We have also managed to return to a mostly normal lifestyle, but, unfortunately, Covid-19 deaths may be rising again. Deaths averaged 28 over the last four weeks, but this week the number of reported deaths rose to 41. While we all hope this will turn out to be ‘a blip’, it would be wise to be cautious until we are sure of that. Government’s public health messaging is still asking us to protect the vulnerable, so I’d ask you all to remember the following advice.
- Stay out of work if you have any symptoms
- Sanitise your hands
- Consider wearing a mask if among large groups indoors
As always, take time to meet with family and friends this weekend and perhaps enjoy the final rugby game of the Autumn Internationals against Australia which should be exciting.
Fanaigí slán,
Peter
11 Nov 17:30
As you may have heard, the Dáil will be sitting on Saturday, 17 December to nominate a Taoiseach and a new Government. If you recall the House also sat on Saturday, 27 June 2020 in the Convention Centre for the nomination of the Taoiseach and members of the Government. We will now start to make the arrangements for that day and we will let you know them as soon as we can.
It has been a busy week on all fronts as usual. We received in a US Congressional Delegation, led by Congressman Bill Keating who was joined by Congressmen Brian Higgins and Juan Vargas. The US Irish relationship is very important to us and we were delighted to welcome them into the House. Closer to home, we also welcomed in Mr. Andrew RT Davies MS, Leader of the Welsh Conservative Party for a short visit packed with meetings with five separate Committees. Many thanks to the Protocol, Interparliamentary and Committee Secretariat for facilitating these meetings.
Yesterday, as part of the Seanad 100 celebrations the Seanad hosted nearly 60 young people in the Chamber. Seanad na nÓg was a huge success for us and one on which we are likely to build out into the future. I was really impressed with the amount of preparatory work put into the event by these young participants who ranged in age from 12 to 17, by the way they spoke and about the passion they showed for the issues they were debating. It was a really enjoyable day. The session was co-chaired in part by Leas Chathaoirleach Joe O’Reilly and Etse Oshiogwemoh from Waterford. The participants finally settled on and voted for a motion on Cost of Living which will now be brought back to the full Seanad and debated by Members with the appropriate Minister. I would like to thank our Public Engagement team of Martha, Christina and Johanna for the hard work in bringing this event to fruition and all the support teams across the House in Security, Catering, Broadcasting and Communications, the team from Foróige and from the Office of the Minister for Children who made the day so special for these young delegates.
Since launching in 2014 the Oireachtas mobile app has enabled thousands of users to easily watch or listen to live proceedings and view schedules of business on their phones. A new notifications feature was added to the app this week, facilitating a more personalised experience. Users can now subscribe to be notified if the status of a Bill is updated online or to be notified if speeches by a particular Member have been published online in the Official Report. Look for the bell symbol on a Bill page or on a Member profile page in the app. Notifications are pushed once per day at 9.30 a.m. and only when there is a change in Bill status or Member speeches have been published online. There’s a news item on the Oireachtas website with further information. The Houses of the Oireachtas app is bilingual and is available for Android and iOS.
As we move to a blended working environment, we need also to remember to make the effort to meet each other. I have previously mentioned the walks and other activities organised by Anne Maxwell for her team in the Debates Office. Last Monday the Debates Office held its first in-person CPD and training session in the Freemasons Hall in Molesworth Street. First and foremost, this was about getting the team together again for the first time since the end of 2019. There were over 60 of the team in attendance, 21 of whom joined the section during Covid. Some of the staff were meeting for the very first time and others hadn’t met in person since March 2020. The day was a great success and the guest speaker, Shane Martin, psychologist and author, gave a talk on how to be resilient in the times we live in. I would encourage all sections to consider organising similar activities.
Next Monday you will receive an email from Roisin Deery, Equality Diversity and Inclusion Officer, regarding the Gender Pay Gap Report and the collection of gender data. Under the Gender Pay Gap Information Act 2021, we are obliged to publish our first Gender Pay Gap Report for staff of the Service in December 2022. We hope this report will provide us with a snapshot of where we currently are and support us to make any required improvements. Up to now, the Service has not been gathering specific data on gender. The Gender Pay Gap Report has provided us with the opportunity to gather the expressed gender preference of staff on a confidential basis, and this information will be held by the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Team. Going forward your gender data will also be used anonymously for specific reporting to include HR reporting, and ED&I reporting. We would like to give the most accurate picture of the Oireachtas in our first Gender Pay Gap Report and we will only be able to include statistics in the report of those who complete the MS Form. Therefore, I encourage everyone to take a few minutes over the next week to complete the form (English Version or Irish version) to express your preferred gender. The deadline for completion of the form is Monday 21st November. If you have any questions, please contact Roisin Deery at 016183034/Roisin.Deery@oireachtas.ie.
On a housekeeping matter, we're taking part in the Government’s Reduce Your Use energy efficiency campaign. To help, we’re asking staff to remember their 3-a-day energy actions:
- Power it down – Log off and power down your computer at the end of the day and switch off your monitor.
- Switch it off – Switch off lights when the office is unoccupied or there is enough natural light.
- Close it up – Keep windows and doors closed when the heating is on and close curtains and blinds before leaving.
If you haven’t already, we encourage you to sign up for the SEAI - Reduce Your Use Home Energy Plan. The focus is on actions that will help to reduce your carbon footprint, reduce your energy usage and save money in the home.
As always, enjoy your weekend end with family and friends and I will see you again next week.
Fanaigí slán.
Peter
28 October 16:00
I am sure you are all looking forward to the long weekend so this is just a short message to update you on a few items before you depart. As you will be aware Bank Holiday Monday is Halloween. The tradition originated with the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, when people would light bonfires and wear costumes to ward off ghosts. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III designated November 1 as a time to honour all saints and this led to All Saints Day being incorporated some of the traditions of Samhain. The evening before was known as All Hallows Eve, and later Halloween. Over time, Halloween evolved into a day of activities as we know it today like trick-or-treating, donning costumes and eating treats. While it is mainly for children, I know that a lot of parents also enjoy the fun.
This week saw the successful hosting of the 62nd British-Irish Interparliamentary Assembly (BIPA) plenary meeting at the Farnham Estate with addresses by An Taoiseach, Minister Colm Brophy and Minister of State for Northern Ireland, Steve Baker MP, amongst others. BIPA plenaries offer an unique opportunity for parliamentarians across the UK and Ireland to engage and interact with each other. This was a particularly useful time for such interparliamentary contacts given the major changes which were taking place in London. The plenary was organised by the Oireachtas team of Regina Boyle, Veronica Carr, Emma McCarron and David Lynch. In addition, staff from the Committees, Debates, IT, Communications and Digitake all helped to ensure that the event ran smoothly. Veronica in particular deserves particular recognition taking the lead to make sure all details were attended to.
Over the coming weeks many of us will be thinking about shopping online. Already we are seeing online discounts and Black Friday is in four weeks time. Please bear in mind the usual rules in terms of online safety and think before you click. Within the Houses we are also highly conscious of our cyber safety. Please bear in mind that the first line of defence against any outside cyber-attack is to be a cautious user. Cyber security is the responsibility of all of us who work in the Houses so if you do happen to click on link and are unsure about it please let us know immediately. Quick action can prevent the spread of a virus and further damage. I have been working with our IT team on developing and upgrading our security policies and over the next few months and we will be telling you more about this important subject.
The Áis-Linn or the Member’s Portal went live this week. Áis-Linn provides a centralised place to manage parliamentary work. Training on this new portal will be made available to all Members and their staff over the coming weeks by our Digital Team. When fully in place it will allow Members to submit Topical Issues and Commencement Matters through the portal. This will be a huge improvement for members and their staff and in due course they will be able to do much more work through the portal. Huge thanks is due to our Digital Team for their work in bringing the project this far.
As we approach the winter, can I remind staff of the importance of exercising personal responsibility regarding Covid-19. If you have any symptoms of Covid-19, please remain off site and follow the HSE advice by treating your symptoms at home. And finally, you will have seen the message from Shane Sexton on the flu vaccine which is being provided for all staff. The vaccine really helps to stave off or reduce the effects of flu so I would urge you to book your appointment. I wish to thank Michael Errity and the HR team for putting the arrangements in place for us all. Agus fógra eile: a big thank you to everyone who submitted their blended working applications by the deadline today. Can I ask those of you who haven’t, to do so next week.
Enjoy your long weekend with family and friends, and if you are taking some time off next week I hope you’ve a relaxing break.
Fanaigí slán.
Peter