Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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160. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if he will report on follow-up trade union and worker engagement planned following the publication of the Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey 2020 COVID-19 Remote Working Report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32462/21]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I launched the COVID-19 Remote Working Report in December 2020 following the Civil Service Employee Engagement Survey which took place in September-October 2020. Over 20,000 civil servants engaged with the remote working module making it the largest workplace survey on remote working undertaken in Ireland during the pandemic.

As a follow on to the Launch, on March 4^th2021, my Department hosted an online event entitled COVID-19 and the Future of Remote Working: National and International Perspectives. The event included expert participation from the OECD and the National University of Ireland, Galway which contextualised the Report with regard to the national and international experience of remote working during the pandemic. The event was attended by over 1,200 civil servants from across the country.

The Programme for Government includes a commitment in relation to remote working. In this context, my Department is working with employers and stakeholders to develop a longer term approach to this issue appropriate to the civil and public service. The findings of the survey and subsequent engagements are valuable inputs to this policy formulation process.