Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

In this country, we are sometimes very critical of ourselves and that can be a good thing. I was struck by a recent survey that illustrated that it has worked very well in Ireland during Covid-19, even without any legislative framework, and we should acknowledge that. The experience for people who benefited from remote working is that they had higher satisfaction levels, quality of life and so on.

On the legislation, the Tánaiste has engaged with employers and unions in respect of this. Obviously, both have different perspectives and want improvements. In my view, we should continue to work with the social partners in respect of this. The purpose of the pre-legislative scrutiny was to scrutinise and strengthen the draft legislation. I do not think we need to go into another Bill. We have a legislative framework to provide clarity to all concerned. This is an evolving situation that has worked well so far without any legislation. With the legislative template now, I think we will get a better outcome.

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