Mr. Joe O'Connor:

I thank the Senator. The reality is certain sectors of the economy are better positioned to make this change immediately. We believe a majority of the workforce are working in areas where the four-day working week could be introduced without additional employment costs while maintaining or increasing productivity. However, as Ms McElwee rightly outlined, the Swedish trial was extremely successful in terms of the outcomes for staff and patients but there were increased employment costs because, in that care home setting, there was a requirement to hire additional staff. There are areas of the economy, such as healthcare, where that should be considered. Our campaign is not proposing the introduction of a four-day working week for nurses and doctors without hiring more nurses and doctors.

However, in the context of this conversation about the future of work, there are certain sectors of the economy where a four-day week is appropriate. I refer to climate action and the number of jobs that will be displaced by automation and artificial intelligence. Most of the research suggests one of the areas in which we need to invest in the creation of new employment is the caring economy. As regards teaching, there are many examples in the United States of private schools having introduced a four-day working week as a mechanism to attract new teachers. Obviously, that is obviously a very different model from the one in Ireland but the four-day week has worked in practice. The reality is certain sectors of the economy are at a later stage of the transition than other sectors. In the context of the conversation about the public sector, local authorities and the Civil Service may be more ready for a trial now, but over time, the shorter working week can work across all sectors of the economy. It might look different in some sectors, such as in the form of a compressed five-day week, but this idea of working time reduction can be achieved across the economy.