Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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75. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform when he plans to commence and conclude his planned review of the Civil Service blended working policy framework; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5125/25]

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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I would like the Minister to put on the record of the House the programme for Government commitment on the context around the planned review of the Civil Service blended working policy framework. As I mentioned in another context earlier, in recent weeks the Department of Social Protection, for example, went on what I might describe as a solo run and requested that staff return to the office a minimum of two days per week from this month. The situation has changed since, but I ask the Minister to elaborate on the current position of the Government, and on his position, on the commitment on a Civil Service blended working policy framework review.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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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.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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It seems to me that the Department of Social Protection jumped the gun with its solo run on this. It jumped the gun on the programme for Government commitment. Nobody has any difficulty with a review. The existing policy, though, has been in place only since 2022, and I would not advise the Civil Service and public service or the Minister to take any example from the code of practice of the Workplace Relations Commission that applies, for example, to the private sector. That is essentially a charter for refusal for workers who want to engage in more hybrid work and have more work-life balance in that regard. I said earlier that the public service should be an exemplar in terms of employment practices, pay and terms and conditions. It is a very competitive labour market at the moment for the skills that are available in our labour market, and that will be very important as regards the ability of the Civil Service and public service to attract talent over the next few years.

On that basis, pending the outcome of engagement with trade unions and the completion of the work on the framework, will Deputy Chambers, as the Minister with responsibility for the public service, instruct individual Government Departments not to change their existing frameworks and policies at least until such time as their engagement with the relevant trade unions and the completion of this initiative?

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The blended working policy framework encourages all individual Civil Service organisations to carry out regular reviews of their own blended working policies in consultation with all stakeholders, including employee representative groups at a local level. The current blended working policy framework for the Civil Service organisations recognises as well that employers require flexibility at a local level to decide on the blended working arrangements that best suit their own business and service delivery needs. That is how this has evolved since it was introduced a number of years ago. It is a matter for each Civil Service organisation to assess those needs and to develop tailored blended working policies appropriate, for example, in the context of what the distinction is between in work and remote work. That has been managed very well across the Civil Service and public service since it was introduced and it has been supported by my Department in the context of the blended working evaluation model, which respects that discretion in the context of each Civil Service organisation.

Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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If I am reading correctly what the Minister is saying, he is comfortable with what the Department of Social Protection did in recent weeks, essentially instructing staff to come back to the office without agreement two days a week. By the way, that may seem reasonable to some, and I am not saying it is unreasonable. What is unreasonable is the lack of consultation and the unilateral nature of that decision, which appeared to blindside staff and their representative organisations, Fórsa in this case. Nobody has any difficulty - I certainly do not - with tailored, customised solutions to address the workplace needs and business environment in individual Departments and agencies because they are all different and all have different needs.

However, we need to agree on a core set of principles that would apply across the Civil Service and public service on approaches to blended, remote and hybrid work. Any initiative the Government undertakes or plans to undertake - I would appreciate it if the Minister put it on the record of the House when he intends to have this process completed - must be informed by evidence. Productivity, performance and all those very important things should be included and any examination needs to be robust and decisions need to be evidence-based. However, I am not seeing much of that.

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I respectfully disagree because we have a blended working evaluation model and that is providing significant insights and evidence. It was published by my Department in July last year and is designed to assist organisations in effectively assessing the impact of blended working on the ways people work. The model provides for a mechanism for continuous improvement. This enables organisations to gain valuable insights, share learnings and identify areas for enhancement.

I have also put on record that the framework encourages individual Civil Service organisations to carry out regular reviews. The business needs of the wider public service are fragmented and different based on the respective roles, remits and responsibilities that particular civil or public servants have. The framework we have respects that, which is why the process of consultation is also reflected in the policy framework we have, which involves engagement of stakeholders, including employee representative groups at a local level. The overall process, as it has evolved since it was introduced during Covid, has been respectful.