Stressed TDs and Senators will be offered a second mindfulness course with taxpayers picking up the bill, the Irish Mirror can reveal.
An eight-week workshop, also attended by political staff, finished in March but will begin again in September, costing a total of €5,000.
A source said last night: “The course was an hour long for eight weeks and there was a good mix. They split up the sessions, TDs and Senators went together and political staff and other office staff did another session.
“It cost around €2,500 for the face-to-face classes for that particular course.”
Details from a Freedom of Information request has revealed Mindcul carried out the programme, with classes aiming to reduce stress and anxiety in the workplace. Sixty-two TDs and Senators signed up for the course earlier this year.
And there was an even gender split but some did not complete the full eight weeks. In a separate group, 136 political and other staff members took part – 101 females and 35 males.
Green Party TD Catherine Martin, who was heavily involved in introducing a mindfulness programme into the Oireachtas, said it was a positive experience. She told the Irish Mirror: “I did attend it and I found it fantastic. I think [62] is a positive number for first steps. We should be leading from the front when it comes to mental health.”
And despite the salary of €94,535 for a TD and €66,940 for Senators, Ms Martin believes the classes are worth the cost to taxpayers.
Ms Martin added: “I would be happy to pay for it but I think for the staff, there’s so many under pressure. I like taking care of staff and their mental wellbeing can often be forgotten about.”
