Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What has happened in recent months is that as a direct response to the pandemic, companies and their employees have collaborated to allow employees to work from home. Many have described this as remote working. The founder of Grow Remote, Tracy Keogh, would rightly argue that this is not remote working as it should be but that this is effectively crisis management. That is what has been happening in recent months. We urgently need to sit down with bodies such as Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the WDC to set out a well-planned and well-thought-out strategy for the development of remote working as a permanent option for employees in Ireland. The benefits it can bring to rural communities and families are many. I am delighted to hear the Minister is showing leadership and taking the initiative on this. I urge her to keep going to ensure that, rather than returning to what we described as the normal of the past, there is a new normal created in which remote working becomes a long-term viable option for thousands of workers across the country.

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