Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Labour Party for introducing this motion. I am aware it had intended to bring a particular Bill through to Committee Stage during its Private Members' time. I have worked on similar legislation. Bill Browder came over and met parliamentarians to try to get a Magnitsky Act concluded here. I share the Labour Party's frustration. I have equally found the process a very frustrating experience. There is no doubt that there is a requirement for a money message, but there is goodwill across the House to get a Magnitsky Act in place in this country similar to what has been done in other jurisdictions. I would hope the goodwill that is there to do that would be taken up on the Government side.

On the motion, I do not believe there can be any going back to old work practices. The pandemic has been hugely difficult for people right across society, but there are things that happened during the pandemic that we should embrace. There were changes that have proved to be positive. One of those was the more flexible working arrangements, which we should be trying to retain. Some 80% of workers were engaged in remote working at some point during the pandemic. For employers, remote working has resulted in increased productivity and better retention of workers. It has opened up the workforce to people who could not access certain forms of employment, particularly in the regions. For workers, remote working provided a greater work-life balance and more flexible hours and reduced stress. Some 93% of those in employment in the mid-east region of Kildare, Louth, Meath and Wicklow who could work remotely said that they would like to continue to do so after the pandemic restrictions are removed. Those who listen to the morning traffic reports will know that every morning it is the same roads that are congested. Some of those roads in my constituency, which is described as "the commuter belt". According to the CSO study, that was the area that most favoured remote working.

The Government plan for the right to request remote working is saying something in theory but not delivering it in practice. There are massive loopholes built in to allow employers to turn down requests. It includes grounds such as potential negative impact on quality. It is impossible to evaluate that. The idea that a person could appeal to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, is only proposed on procedural grounds, in the same way as, for example, a judicial review of a decision of An Bord Pleanála does not relate to the actual decision but how the decision was arrived at.

The public service needs to play a lead role in the move towards remote and blended work and to show an example in that regard. If it is done right, it has the potential to transform the labour market, particularly for women, disabled persons and carers, many of whom have been forced to give up work or have been locked out of the jobs market. Remote working was put in place in a hurry because of Covid. It is not the way we would have liked it to happen but it has been a positive development for so many. However, there are negatives as well. There is evidence of workers struggling to switch off, working longer hours and working while ill. Women are taking on childcare responsibilities on top of a full working day. Remote working is not and cannot be a substitute for childcare. There is a real problem at the moment with accessing childcare. We are starting to see evidence of that. I am being contacted daily on the issue. There is a real struggle to access childcare. When more women than men take advantage of remote working, in some cases it impacts on their careers. We need to keep an eye on that. We need to overcome the cultural beliefs about committed workers, who are people who work beyond the hours they are supposed to work. Remote working also makes people invisible in the workplace and it lessens the opportunities for promotions and mentorship. We have to make sure to avoid the negative impacts. We can do that by making sure men equally take up remote working.

As we know, workers' rights are better protected where there is free collective bargaining. There should be an embracing of that where these issues can be worked through. Remote working can mean that workers are more isolated. It is important to strike a balance between the right to remote working and the right to work in the workplace. Remote working is also important in that it helps us to meet our climate targets. We are committed to reducing car travel by 2030, with a reduction of 500,000 car journeys per day by 2030. Remote working will have a positive impact in terms of achieving those targets. It is very difficult to see how we would achieve that in the absence of such a big initiative.

The CSO survey shows that up to 73% of remote workers take fewer car trips, that there has been a reduction in the gender commuting gap and that where women have childcare and domestic work responsibilities, they opt for shorter commutes and the limited pool of lower paid jobs.

There is a degree of this being reversed by virtue of the fact that we are starting to see people in the regions taking up positions that would not have been available previously. Remote working has had a positive impact from that point of view.

The right to remote working is crucial for easing housing pressures in urban areas and will facilitate rural regeneration. If remote working were available, nearly 50% of first-time buyers would rent outside of Dublin, 38% of workers would consider moving house and 7% have already done so. In the UK, there is a legal right to request working from home, but employees must be employed for 26 weeks before they can make that request. The availability of remote working is often the difference between someone taking up a job and not taking it up. We must consider all aspects of remote working to ensure that there is no negative.

The legislation as presented contains too many loopholes and is an example of doing something in theory without doing it in practice. This has to work in practice. We must embrace remote working as a positive change and take it up to the furthest possible extent. It would benefit us all.

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