Ruairi Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

No. My question is probably unfair, like many that I ask. All I am saying is that we will need some sort of grant scheme that will facilitate geothermal energy and that the two Departments must consider it.

Remote working has been spoken about. There has been a huge increase in it across Europe and across international borders. Some tech-sector jobs are advertised as entailing remote working alone, but there is a cross-border issue in that there are straightforward advertisements that state applicants should not apply unless they live here. A job in the South may not be available to someone in the North, or vice versa.

The issue is that if you are remote working for a considerable period, the company would have to put you on a separate payroll system. It would have to operate, say, the northern jurisdiction’s taxation rules and all the rest of it.

I said I would not mention the protocol. Long term, people across Europe and the world are looking at solutions, but it will take a great deal of time. The only solution I can see, unless someone tells me different, is a bilateral deal, probably with the British Government. That may become more possible if we get beyond the hiccup that has been ongoing for some time regarding the protocol. There, I mentioned it.