David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

A paradigm shift is occurring. I have listened to Mr. Hegarty speak about trust between the workforce and employers. Building up a relationship is hugely important. It gets away from the old confrontational model that was there in the past and from the monitoring model. I have detected this among younger workers in particular in the technology sector. It is important and underpins what the witnesses are speaking about.

There are 13 grounds whereby an employer can refuse. I agree that a lot of them are nonsense and we need to change them. One of them is the burden of additional costs and the witnesses alluded to this in their introduction. It is to take into account the financial and other costs entailed and the scale and financial resources of the employer's business. Will the witnesses comment on this? If somebody is to work from home or from a hub there are costs involved in both instances. Is it is expected that the employer would supply chairs, desks, computers, printers and whatever else would be needed for the employees? This would be not just for one employee but for many who are working remotely. The witnesses have also alluded to the cost of renting space in a hub, which can be substantial over time. Some of the hubs have to pay rates, which is causing a big problem for their own financial viability. Will the witnesses comment on the cost implications of this? We know that employees do not have to travel to work so they do not have this cost. In some instances it may very well be that a family might end up with just one car rather than two. There are savings there. Has work being done on this side of it and how it might be balanced and whose responsibilities lie where?