Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister, Deputy Bruton, and I have already held a consultation event. As I said, we want to hear the views of employers and employees because it is a win-win for everybody. It is a question of how we can find the right way to do it. The findings of the consultation will feed into the research on remote working being carried out by my Department. We want to figure out through it the extent of remote working among the workforce, the types of arrangement in place, the attitudes towards remote working and the factors that influence employers and employees in pursuing remote working. Ultimately, the research will inform new Government policy on the issue. The policy could take any one of a number of forms. It could be a Government strategy or it may be a charter to which employers could sign up. We need to take stock of the discussions. While we have to await the outcome of the research, I am satisfied that we will find the right solution.

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