About half of the staff working at Design & Crafts Council Ireland left the organisation last year. A total of 24 employees have resigned between the period 2021 to 2024.

The figures were released under the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and seen by The Irish Times. Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI) is the national agency for craft and design and, according to its website, it aims to “support designers and makers to develop their businesses in a sustainable way, and advocate for the societal benefits of craft and design”.

Its activities are funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment via Enterprise Ireland.

Resignation and Staff Changes

The data released shows that one employee retired in 2020 while there was also a redundancy. There were eight resignations in 2021 as well as one redundancy.

There were seven resignations in 2022, alongside three redundancies and one retirement. In 2023, one employee resigned while another had their job terminated. Last year, there were eight resignations and three redundancies.

DCCI said the average number of employees last year was 22. Overall staff numbers have averaged between 23 and 30 since 2020. During the period 2020 to 2024, three members of staff were part-time while all others were full-time.

Four employees have brought cases to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). “DCCI is unable to comment on the nature of any of the cases, but all have been concluded,” it stated.

Jim Sheridan of Fórsa trade union, which represents a number of DCCI employees, said WRC cases it was involved in related to “various employment issues”.

Reasons for Staff Turnover

The council said that staff have left the organisation over recent years for “a number of varied reasons”.

“They left in the main to pursue other interests, or to retire, while a small number availed of voluntary severance. Significant restructuring and change programmes in mature organisations often result in staff turnover of this nature,” it said.

In relation to 2025, two new staff members did not successfully complete their probationary period and were not retained while a third employee “left the organisation to take a role located closer to where they live”.

Organisational Restructuring

The organisation also said there has been a “very significant restructuring of its functions and its team” over the past four years in line with its new strategic focus.

In 2021, DCCI worked with KPMG to develop a new five-year strategy for the organisation. The strategy was launched following “extensive consultation with the sector and key stakeholders, and DCCI’s board formally adopted this new strategic plan”.

DCCI threatened legal action against glass artist Róisín de Buitléar over a critical feedback report she sent on behalf of up to 20 other members earlier this year. The report was in relation to their experience of participating in the Collect 24 exhibition in London.

In 2022, nine former DCCI employees wrote to the Department of Enterprise and then tánaiste Leo Varadkar, as well as to the board, to flag their concern at the high turnover of staff and request a review of the organisation’s HR and workplace procedures.

Rosemary Steen stepped down as chief executive of the council last summer after more than four years in the role to become director of the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB).

The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) said DCCI is an independent organisation that receives funding through Enterprise Ireland (EI), while a service level agreement is in place.

“This provides the framework for agreement of service levels and performance management in respect of the funding provided by EI on behalf of DETE to the Design and Crafts Council Ireland,” it said.

Source: The Irish Times.