Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will outline my absolute support for the Act. I am not just saying that as a politician. In my daily life, we talk a lot about being at effective full employment. It is a nice thing to say and it shows the power of the economy but for employers that means a very tight labour market. One thing I was boosted by in the first half of this year was that when the unemployment figures again went down, we saw that 75% of those who returned to work were women. We do not need to go into the details but women still remain the primary caregivers at home, be that for children, elderly parents or relatives. Women were able to return to work because of that increased level of flexibility and the right to disconnect, which will allow them to return to the workplace in a manner that is realistic and accepts the genuine needs outside the workplace.

I fundamentally agree that this requires legislative underpinning. In many cases, the change is moving voluntarily but that is not enough. It needs strong legislation and a strong code of practice, which will be achieved through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act enacted on 4 April 2023. As the Senator highlighted, however, the code of practice is crucial to making sure the Act is implemented. That code is currently being prepared by the WRC. This work is ongoing. The code will have practical guidelines for workers and employers on how to treat applications for remote working. This is something that must be done correctly. As we know, it will be of great importance to so many workers and employees.

The WRC held a public consultation, which received submissions up until 9 June. In total, 51 submissions were received. The WRC then reviewed the submissions that were received as part of the consultation process, as well as reviewing other relevant policy documents, research and best practice in other jurisdictions, as part of finalising a working draft code. A working group has been established, which is working towards agreeing the contents of this draft code. The group includes representatives of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, and IBEC to ensure it can represent employees and employers alike. This group met again just last week on Thursday, 5 October. We expect the group to meet every two weeks to complete this code as soon as possible. With this in mind, the code will be published as soon as is practicable following the conclusion of the work.

I will give the Senator an undertaking. It is a fair request that this work should be done speedily and brought about as quickly as possible. I 100% agree with her; she has no disagreement. We have tasked the WRC and its working group with a very important piece of work. We know it has to be got right to make sure it underpins the Act but it has to be done in an expedited manner. I will once again take the Senator's representations back to that discussion. I underline that I will press this, as the Minister of State responsible as much as anything else.