Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 9 February 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation

General Scheme of the Right to Request Remote Working Bill 2021: Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Photo of Paul MurphyPaul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE)
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First, I apologise for only arriving a few minutes ago. I was speaking on our Private Members' Bill. My apologies if I ask questions that have already been answered. As currently drafted, the heads of the Bill are extremely weak and give a right to request, which is fine, and then a right to deny by the employer on very broad business grounds. There is a list of 13 reasons, but it is explicitly stated that it is not an exhaustive list so an employer can reject on any business ground. When we discussed this with the Minister last week, he said that perhaps 13 reasons are too many and he indicated a willingness to look at the grounds for refusal. That was not included in the opening statement. Is the witness considering the issue of the grounds being too broad and so forth?