INTERNET RESTRICTIONS on Leinster House staff that do not apply to TDs and Senators have been agreed with employee representatives, an Oireachtas spokesman has said.
Explaining why Oireachtas staff were either discouraged or blocked from accessing certain websites, the spokesman said: “Usage of the internet by Houses of Oireachtas staff is governed by the Houses of Oireachtas acceptable usage policy.
“This policy has been agreed between Oireachtas staff and employee representatives. Under this policy, certain websites which are not deemed necessary for employees to carry out the normal functions of their jobs are not routinely accessible.
“If on particular occasions staff do need to access these sites for work-related purposes they must confirm this before gaining right to use. The policy applies to Oireachtas staff only and does not pertain to members,” he added.
Journalists using the Oireachtas internet system who attempted to access video website YouTube and social networking site MySpace last week received a message on their computer screens as follows: “Access to this site was blocked. Your attempt to access this site has been recorded. Contact your system administrator if you need access to this site for business purposes.”
Attempts to access two other popular social networking sites, Facebook and Bebo, were greeted with a “warning” notice as follows: “The web page you are trying to access may contain content which is not in compliance with the acceptable usage policy.”
A request from this writer to access YouTube to view an illustrated version of Eamon de Valera’s 1945 reply to Winston Churchill was granted. Restrictions were also lifted from MySpace, Facebook and Bebo.
However, an attempt to access bookmaker Paddy Power’s website carried a warning notice that it “may contain content which is not in compliance with the acceptable usage policy”.
A spokesman for Paddy Power said similar procedures applied in most government departments and a number of banks: “We respect the decision of the policymakers within each individual organisation. The flipside is that our betting shop in Merrion Row, a stone’s throw away from Government Buildings, is one of our busiest within the city limits.”
An Oireachtas employee, speaking anonymously, said the policy was in place for some time and had become “quite strict”.