SIPTU General Secretary, Joe Cunningham, has welcomed the Government’s wage compensation scheme which was announced today (Tuesday, 24^th March) and is intended to retain workers in employment.

Under the scheme, an employer will receive a subsidy of 70% in respect of an employee’s net wage, up to €38,000 per annum. The scheme is intended to continue for a 12-week period although further details have yet to be provided. The latest government proposals also include an increase from €203 to €350 per week in the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment.

Joe Cunningham said: “The Government’s announcement will go a long way towards protecting employment and businesses during this emergency. It will provide security for workers and help ensure the economy will be in a strong position to recover once this public health crisis is over.”

“SIPTU and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have been calling for the introduction of such a scheme. While we await further details, the outline announced by the Government today is consistent with what we have been seeking. 

“In particular, it has the capacity to keep employers and employees connected, which means that once the emergency has passed, the economy will be in a stronger position to recover. While we would have preferred the scheme to be extended to workers who have been temporarily laid off, the increase in the Pandemic Unemployment Payment is to be welcomed. We will be seeking clarification as to whether this increase will also apply to Jobseekers payments.”

“We are calling on employers to engage positively with this scheme so that workers and the economy receive its potential benefits.  We also call on employers to work with their employees and their trade union representatives to ensure maximum participation.”

Niall Tóibín, Actor, Writer, Comedian, Singer, Impressionist and Presenter, was the last of a veteran group of multi-talented performers from Cork City and, perhaps had the edge in versatility. Born into an Irish speaking family, he sang in the cathedral choir as a child and in the Opera House in Cork.

In his teens, he joined a drama society attached to the Gaelic League, performing locally until 1953 when he joined the illustrious Radio Eireann Players. Niall remained there for fourteen years, honing his considerable vocal skills. He then joined the Abbey Players as guest performer, creating the role of Brendan Behan in “Borstal Boy”, a performance still unsurpassed for its uncanny accuracy.

He also found time to write scripts for RTE and for his own stage and TV shows, and wrote the lyrics for several Gael Linn records. From the 1970s he appeared in sixty-four major Film and Television productions including such iconic series as, “Minder”, “The Irish RM”, “Coronation Street”, “Brideshead Revisited” and “Ballykissangel”.

Fittingly, Niall had several honours bestowed on him. In 1973, he won a Jacob’s Award for his performance in the RTE comedy series, “If the Cap Fits” and, Best Actor at the Christian Film and Television Excellence Awards.  In 2003 the Mayor of London asked him to serve as the “Ambassador of Ireland” to their St. Patrick’s Day Festival. He also received an Honorary Doctor of Arts Degree from University College Cork, made a freeman of the city of his birth and honoured with the Irish Film and Television Academy’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011.

Professional to his fingertips, dedicated to his profession, and to the support of his fellow artists, Niall was a lifelong member of Irish Equity. He was also a committed campaigner for actors’ rights and, in the nineteen sixties, was instrumental in fighting for better conditions for the Abbey Players. Through Equity, he took on Ernest Blythe (the Abbeys’ Managing Director) who had refused to implement basic contracts. Our National Theatre performers owe a great debt to Nialls’ bravery for their current conditions of employment.

A true giant, and major talent of the entertainment profession in these Islands, and beyond, for an incredible sixty-five years, he will be greatly missed by so many. Words cannot express our gratitude for this life-long dedication.

Our sincere condolences to his children, Sighle, Aisling, Fiana, Sean and Muireann.

“Go bhfaigheadh ​​Dia é i mbos a láimhe!”  “May God hold him in the palm of his hand!”

Laurence Foster
November 2019

Where does one begin to pay tribute to, undoubtedly, one of the finest broadcasters and presenters in the history of Radio and Television, not only in Ireland, but across Europe and beyond?

So many of us had the privilege of sharing the same corridor in the RTE Radio Centre for 25 years with Gay;  he, usually resident with his morning programme in Studio 5 and, in our case in Studio 9, with the RTE Players. Often we would be called in to read letters on air for him, or to assume alter-persona to take part in April Fool-day pranks. Afterwards, you would not get a pat on the back – it was what you were paid to do and he expected professionalism. I think that was what separated Gay from many other superb broadcasters.

He was fully focussed, so well informed and totally flexible – equally at home in heavy politics, light entertainment, music and current affairs. He was also brave! Despite resistance from many sides, he was indeed, a game changer and an incredibly influential force. In 1971, The Late Late Show” was being watched in half a million homes and, his radio show had nearly one million listeners!

Gay was a talented journalist, an actor, musician, raconteur and a showman, well able to hold audiences in the palm of his hand. In his broadcasts, he was speaking to just “you”, but also embracing thousands. His “warm-up”, to relax audiences prior to live transmissions of the “Late Late Show”, was impeccable, witty and mesmerising! 

Incredibly, he remained perpetually at the top of his profession, switching from genial host to investigative interrogator in the same programme, with consummate and confident ease. However, even though his success can now be measured by the multi talents he possessed, Gay made sure that he honed those skills to near perfection to achieve that success. He could also be professionally ruthless when he knew what elements a programme needed, or did not need, in order to retain its impact.

He was a staunch member of Irish Equity, picketing with equal vigour during union disputes and, was deservedly honoured with Life Membership of Equity. Gay also did, what Gay thought to be right and just. He was an avid theatre-goer, supporting his fellow union members, promoting performers and artists at every opportunity.

Whether one admired Gay, or took issue with him as a broadcaster, we never will see, or hear his like again. Broadcasting has changed, dedication to ones’ profession has changed, but the history and personification of his talent, that is encapsulated in recorded archive, will be a lasting testament to a genuine legend!

“That familiar voice, wearies not ever…”   –  Shelley.

Laurence Foster,
November 2019

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SIPTU representatives have called on professional artists to avail of an expansion in the categories of those eligible to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance while they focus on their artistic work and to develop their portfolio.

SIPTU Services Division Organiser, Karan O Loughlin, said: “Visual artists and writers have this month been joined by artists such as screen writers, film directors and film actors in being able to claim Jobseeker’s Allowance under this scheme.

“Those eligible for the scheme also include those involved in the theatre art form, specifically actors, costume designers, theatre directors, set designers and stage designers. Musicians, dancers, choreographers, opera composers and circus and street performers complete the list of artistic disciplines who are now included in the scheme.”

She added: “This development should greatly benefit artists, many of whom are in precarious working positions and due to the nature of their work have periods when a lack of earnings is a serious problem. That the Government has recognised that specific and special measures are needed to assist these workers is positive.

“It should also mark a step forward on the path to recognition of the professional status and value of performing artists in Ireland. However, we also need a broader discussion about the working lives of artists and their capacity to have longevity and dignity in their careers. The way to truly value artists is to ensure they can make a secure living from their work and that means the development of a basic income scheme for them.”

In order to qualify for the scheme, professional artists must apply for and satisfy the qualifying conditions for Jobseeker’s Allowance including a means test.  They must be unemployed, capable of, available for and actively seeking work. 

Applicants are also required to provide a certificate/declaration from their professional body as to their status as a professional artist. They must be registered as self-employed with the Office of the Revenue Commissioners and at least 50% of their income should be derived from their art in the previous year. Participants on the scheme can, on a voluntary basis, continue to avail of the supports of the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection’s Public Employment Service.

Do you use Public Liability Insurance? Is it too Expensive? The union is endeavoring to understand the requirement for public liability insurance for people who work in the arts industry. Can you take 60 seconds to answer these few short questions so we can establish if the union is in a position to provide this insurance to you at a lower cost. Fill in the survey!

Irish Equity Executive delegation met with the Arts Council on Friday 26th July re maximising affordable performance and rehearsal spaces. Photo from left to right: Irish Equity Executive members Pádraig Murray (President), Ann Russell and Gerry Lee.

Following a review of the pilot social protection scheme for writers and visual artists, the Government has announced its extension to professional performing artists. The extension of the scheme will now see the inclusion of actors, musicians, street performers, dancers and other artists whose professional status will be designated by the fact that a minimum of 50%
of their income is generated through their professional work. For the first time these earnings can also include teaching within their profession.

Irish Equity supports this initiative as a positive step forward on the path to recognition of the professional status and value of performing artists in Ireland. However, a broader discussion about the working lives of artists and their capacity to have longevity and dignity in their careers is now needed. The way to truly value artists is to ensure they can make a secure living from their work and that means the development of a basic income scheme for these professionals.

Photo from left to right: Stephen Spence, Equity UK with Padraig Murray and Karan OLoughlin, Irish Equity and Louis Rolston, Equity UK (right), outside Liberty Hall for the recent Equity Ireland/ Equity UK Action Group meeting.