Museum staffers in Ireland are struggling to sustain careers due to unstable contracts, low pay, and toxic working environments. Dr. Emma McAlister, who has worked in the Irish museum industry on a temporary rolling contract for two and a half years, highlights the issue. Her experience is not isolated, as a 2024 compensation study by the Irish Museums Association found an overreliance on temporary contracts and volunteers in the country's museums. The study shows that 52 percent of museum workers are on permanent or rolling contracts, while volunteers make up 27 percent, and only 6 percent are on fixed-term contracts for up to five years.
The Irish Museums Association concludes that the transition from short-term contracts to permanent positions is a fundamental issue that needs to be addressed. Temporary contracts create instability and a culture of silence around employee mistreatment and toxic hierarchies. Ireland's museums have a reputation for unhealthy working cultures, with one in five workers at the National Museum of Ireland reporting being "often" bullied. The prestigious nature of these cultural institutions can lead to an "expectation of gratitude" despite low pay and toxic hierarchies.
The issue of underpaid and insecure museum workers is not unique to Ireland. In the UK, 16 percent of staffers working in cultural activities were paid below living wage in 2024, according to the Museums Association. The underfunding of the museum sector is a underlying issue that results in museum staffers being underpaid and having fragile job security. However, some governments have pledged recent investments into established and local museums to boost the sector.
Ireland's Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O'Donovan, has earmarked €274,000 for local and regional museums in the country. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland's Ulster Folk Museum received £40 million in government funding. The UK has also pledged £1.5 billion over a five-year period, with £600 million going to Department-funded museums and £160 million to regional and local institutions. While further government funding is a positive signal, it is unclear how the new budgets will be used by individual museums and if they will be directed towards staff retention.
Dr. McAlister emphasizes that the Irish museum sector needs to "face a long-overdue reckoning" with help from governments and funding bodies. The sector requires a fundamental change to address the issues of precarious contracts, low pay, and toxic working environments. With the recent funding announcements, there is a possibility for positive change, but it remains to be seen how the funds will be utilized and whether they will lead to improved working conditions for museum staffers.
