Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government has committed to review the Blended Working Policy Framework for Civil Service Organisations to consider how the implementation of this approach best delivers public services. My Department will consider the commitments and actions set out in the programme for Government which fall under its remit, including the commitments and actions relating to blended working.

The Blended Working Policy Framework for Civil Service Organisations was published by my Department in March 2022. The framework provides broad strategic direction to individual Departments and offices in the Civil Service in developing tailored policies on blended working that are appropriate to their business needs.

The framework already provides for reviews, in consultation with stakeholders, on an ongoing basis to adapt to any changes required to meet the needs of business and employees and to incorporate any broader strategies and approaches to new ways of working. Civil Service organisations are encouraged to review their policies regularly to ensure that they continue to meet their business needs.

The Civil Service remains committed to ensuring that the public have access to services underpinned by efficient public service delivery. In this context, ongoing reviews of the impact of blended working on organisations, the workforce and the public are essential. The framework recognises that employers require flexibility to decide on the blended working arrangements that best suit their own business and service delivery needs, having regard to the policy or service delivery context in which they operate.

In July last year, my Department published the blended working evaluation model with a view to assisting Civil Service organisations in effectively assessing the impact of blended ways of working on the workforce, organisations and the public. The outcome of these evidence-based assessments will help to inform future policy direction to ensure that blended working evolves to best serve those organisations, the workforce and the public.

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