Surveyors at Tailte Éireann, Ireland's land register agency, have staged a sit-in at their Dublin office and are preparing to ballot for industrial action amid an unresolved three-year pay dispute. The ongoing row has effectively halted the issuance of new Eircodes for weeks, significantly impacting the sale of new homes and potentially restricting access to vital public services for properties lacking a postcode.
Eircode Shortage Creates Property and Service Bottlenecks
The core of the issue lies in a disagreement over salary scales and pay rates for surveyors, involving Tailte Éireann, the Department of Housing, and the Department of Public Expenditure (DPER). Tailte Éireann, formed in 2023 by amalgamating the Land Registry, Land Valuation Office, and Ordnance Survey Ireland (OSI), claims it had approval from the Department of Housing in December 2024 to transfer surveyor staff from OSI onto the public sector pay scale. This led the agency to secure a pay deal with trade union Forsa last year.
However, the National Shared Services Office (NSSO), responsible for public payroll, rejected these transfers, stating the positions were not sanctioned by the DPER. Surveying seniority scales are understood to not align with the public sector pay scale. Tailte Éireann managers have described the situation as "unsustainable," warning of "serious operational and reputational risks" to the agency.
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Impact on Staffing and Recruitment
The dispute has resulted in approximately 20% of the agency's surveyor positions becoming vacant due to the NSSO's decision. Furthermore, seven senior positions, including a human resources manager, remain unfilled. The trade union Forsa has stated that the agreement to ballot staff was made after Tailte Éireann began recruiting new surveyors while advertising a lower-than-agreed salary, which Forsa characterized as "yet another breach of good faith."
Industrial Action Looms
In a letter to Tailte Éireann CEO Liam O’Sullivan, Forsa assistant secretary Jim Mitchell indicated that the union would ballot surveyors for industrial action and could not guarantee that other Tailte Éireann staff would not also strike. Mitchell warned that a "sympathetic ballot" by other staff members could occur if the matter is not resolved.
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Negotiations and Standoff
In May, Tailte Éireann's head of corporate affairs, Danny O’Sullivan, appealed to the Department of Housing to arrange a tripartite meeting with the DPER. Currently, former OSI staff who were due to relocate to new offices in Smithfield have refused to move from the Phoenix Park site under an agreement with the Office of Public Works (OPW). O'Sullivan stated that this relocation is "on hold" as surveyors will not move until the pay issue is resolved.
The DPER confirmed it has been engaged with Housing and Tailte Éireann regarding staff transfers since late 2022 and stated there are no restrictions on Tailte Éireann conducting recruitment competitions for sanctioned general service grades. A spokesperson for the Department of Housing noted that Tailte Éireann is an independent body and that public pay policy falls under the DPER's purview.