Roderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator. A lot of thought has gone into the process of how these requests will be made, and there is an element of trying to balance the needs of the employees, as the Senator articulated, and the needs of employers. We are covering a diverse range of employers, many where the right to request remote or flexible working will be easily or reasonably easily provided for. However, there are others where it will not so easily be provided for and it will be difficult. It may take some time and consideration. The provision for additional time to consider the request is not automatic. It requires the employer to inform the employee that they are taking additional time. In a situation where they have not been able to come to final conclusion about the reasonableness of the request, to require them to set out why they have not come to that conclusion, I am not sure how beneficial that is, in terms of the process. I hope this reassures the Senator, but what is secured is that there is not an automatic right on behalf of the employer to allow the two extra months to just run on. They have to inform the employee who has made the flexible work request that additional time is needed. Again, in terms of a situation where no final decision has been made, to be looking for reasons for the request for extra time is significant and may not be deliverable in a meaningful way.