MOST FINANCIAL institutions that have had property-related loans bought by the National Asset Management Agency (Nama), including Anglo Irish Bank, AIB, Bank of Ireland and EBS, have said they will not have staff Christmas parties this year.
Anglo, Bank of Ireland and AIB said they would not be holding Christmas parties this year, as was the case last year.
A spokeswoman for AIB added: “By that I mean that the company is not funding, subsidising or facilitating any staff parties.
“Should groups of staff wish to organise external events at their own expense, then they are obviously free to do so.”
A spokesman for Irish Nationwide said that no decision has yet been taken on what support the society might give, if any, to staff for local Christmas parties this year.
A spokeswoman for Nama said she could not provide a response before Monday on the issue.
Meanwhile, semi-State body Fás is not providing Christmas parties for its staff, as has been the arrangement for the last number of years.
“Some departments, training centres and social clubs may choose to organise individual Christmas parties outside office hours, but these are paid for in full by the staff members in attendance,” a spokeswoman for Fás said.
“They are not organised by nor will there be any financial contribution made by Fás,” she added.
The recession has led to a decrease in the number of companies who are subsidising Christmas parties.
A recent study carried out by employment law firm Peninsula Ireland indicated that 84 per cent of Irish bosses would not be organising a Christmas bash for staff this year, with 72 per cent claiming the business could not afford the added expense.
However, this is not borne out in venues that hold Christmas parties around Dublin. These indicated that, while bookings are down on what they were during the Celtic Tiger era, they are holding up on last year.
John Connolly, conference and banquets manager at the Burlington Hotel, said: “While we’re definitely down on a few years back, we’re better off this year than we were last,” he said.
He added that, where previously banks and other businesses would have booked under their company name, this year they are seeing more bookings coming in under individuals’ names.
Bronagh Kelleher, director of sales and marketing with the Fitzwilliam Hotel, said bookings were up on last year, although the size of the parties tended to be smaller. Clients were looking for better value for money. “Overall speople aren’t really going full out . . . so they are still holding Christmas parties, just not on an extravagant scale.”