Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Tánaiste to start by doing a very simple thing. We very rarely hear senior politicians or NPHET requesting employers to allow their employees to work from home.

We hear a lot that employees should all work from home where possible but there should also be an onus on employers to provide this facility. We could spend all evening getting into why people's homes or apartments are overcrowded but the Tánaiste is correct that plenty of people cannot work from home. This is where some good work could be done with regard to hubs that would be based in villages and towns. In my area in Balbriggan, a place he knows well, there is a place on the main street and it would be fantastic to have a facility and have people in the town spending money on their lunch break. This can work as an idea for blended working. I welcome the fact that he is committed to doing this and we in Sinn Féin will commit to working with him to ensure this is done speedily. We need to place a little bit more emphasis on the obligations of the employer to provide this. This cannot just be a one-way street in giving people the right to ask. There has to be some sort of persuasive element for an employer.

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