Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On 25 January the Government approved the priority drafting of the right to request remote working Bill 2022 and pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment commenced this week. This is one of many measures the Government has introduced to incentivise and facilitate remote working. Others include the right to disconnect and investment in remote working hubs throughout the country as part of our remote working strategy, which was published last year.

The Department carried out a public consultation and there was significant engagement, which included submissions from both employer and trade union representative groups. These groups will also have their opportunity to address the joint Oireachtas committee. I will be interested to hear what they have to say and I will carefully consider suggestions from all sides to improve the legislation. This is only the general scheme and we will draft the Bill itself over the coming months. I am happy to receive feedback and suggestions on the legislation. My officials and I will also be happy to have further engagement with trade unions on the proposals and we had engagement last week as part of the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF, meeting.

My Department is currently looking further at the legal issues related to many issues regarding the Bill and is taking further advice from the Attorney General on the matter. We are keen to enhance the rights and entitlements of workers but we also need to ensure a balanced approach that is fair and affordable for employers. We must also ensure that services provided to the public are not diminished. Similarly, we must acknowledge that not all occupations, industries, or particular roles within an enterprise will be appropriate or suitable for remote working, for example, construction and healthcare. Therefore, calls to introduce a blanket right to remote working are not realistic.

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