Eoghan Murphy -offering intern with only lunch expenses, no pay, you bring own laptop

[hiding behind a poster]

Its nice to know that his last slave got himself some employment in Brussels....thanks of course to his own hard efforts! I wonder what the political persuasion of all these interns are - are they connected in any way to the political machinery they are now interning for?

Interns are often, but not always, from other countries. So its unlikely they're that politically-connected. The "home-grown" interns are usually those finishing relevant third-level courses.

[CarnivalOfAction]

Not really. No political journalist can function without a certain amount of access to politicians, with politicians feeding them stories, and so on - and that comes via an element of trust. A journalist who abused confidentiality in that manner would find their access to everything reduced to zero.

The wallys in the pro-establishment press [mostly owned by tax dodgers O'Brien & O'Reilly, who fund FG & FF] merely parrot lies from "important" politicians. Proper journalists like Mary Raftery & John Pilger [whose ancesters were deported from Ireland by the British Occupiers] don't need "access" to professional liars.

[Telemachus]

Alan Farrell TD - Fine Gael TD for Dublin North.: Intern Position

Heres another "job" for one of the lickspittles here who want to get in on the representational democracy racket.

Fingal as well - working in the Ghetto.

[Fractional Reserve]

If someone wants to work under these conditions of their own free will , so what ,it's nobodies business but their own.
They may get a better education in politics than doing some halfassed course/ degree that burns big holes in your bank account .

.

Does Murphy get expenses for being on those useless committees?

Could he use that money to actually pay someone for providing a service for him?

As an addition this is what Murphy is looking for . . .for free of course:

The ideal candidate should have:
Proven research skills
Excellent written and verbal communication skills
Good computer skills to include Excel, Word processing and internet.
Knowledge of online social media outlets
Ability to work on own initiative
Excellent organisational and people skills


A public representative taking advantage of those unemployed. . . what an absolute idiot!

[An Gilladaker]

If someone wants to work under these conditions of their own free will , so what ,it's nobodies business but their own.
They may get a better education in politics than doing some halfassed course/ degree that burns big holes in your bank account .

.

At 1.25 euro an hour looks like a winner all round for the employer

[loner]

He's an elected representative. He's paid to do a job. Either his salary and allowances are sufficient to undertake the work required or they are not?

He already has a Secretary and a Parliamentary assistant and varios constitiency office expenses. He has a mileage allowance for tavel in his constituency and free computeand mobile phone allowances. He also gets about 40 euros a day every day he attends Leinster House because he lives in the Dublin area. Cheapskate!!!

[Expose the lot of them]

TD's get paid to employ a research assistant in the €40-50k range. It does beg the question what is that person doing all day if an intern is doing their job for them?

Like others it is possible that he has a family member or friend installed in the paid position.

[loner]

Interns are often, but not always, from other countries. So its unlikely they're that politically-connected. The "home-grown" interns are usually those finishing relevant third-level courses.

Its cheap labour by any yardstick

[Lonewolfe]

Its cheap labour by any yardstick

That's what all internships are. To those availing of the internship it may help them in their career. Murphy is no different from anyone else offering an unpaid internship.

[livingstone]

The fact that the concept of internships is such a source of bemusement on here speaks volumes to the extent that a lot of posters actually know about politics. It baffles me a bit that when it comes to education, no one complains that inidviduals give up their time, unable to work full-time to develop skills and expertise which will enable them to increase their earning potential later in life. But when it comes to practical experience, suddenly someone who uses their time to develop experience and contacts in their field of interest is being exploited.

Of course in the real world, getting a job is bloody difficult and what can make someone stand out is (a) activity in uni beyond just academic and (b) some sort of professional experience. Whoever gets this job will be able to point to a section in their CV demonstrating that they have at least some experience in an evironment in which they wish to work.

It's really not unusual - have a look at w4mp | home to see the sheer number of unpaid internships in the UK - with MPs, Lords, NGOs etc. Government Departments even offer them. In many cases, getting a job in politics or policy is hugely difficult without doing one or more internships, and many work weekends or evenings to make ends meet. The fact that any of this is news to some posters is quite worrying for a site about politics.