Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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206. To ask the Minister for Health the steps taken by his Department to support the implementation of the national remote work strategy Making Remote Work; the approximate number or percentage of staff within his Department who have access to cloud services for remote videoconferencing and the capacity to work remotely; his plans to increase this percentage; the framework under which procurement for this is managed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45370/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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In line with the Government campaign - #MakingRemoteWork – I am supportive of facilitating all reasonable and practical applications for blended working, while ensuring the continued effective and efficient delivery of business. My Department has established an internal Blended Working Group involving key corporate functional areas which is examining the practical implications of facilitating blended working by staff in the Department of Health. This will be ongoing over the coming months and will take account of central policy on blended working from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

My Department implemented the necessary remote working infrastructure as an early response to the Covid-19 pandemic, which was facilitated through existing contracts. This includes secure remote access to videoconferencing, email and file systems. 100% of departmental staff continue to have access to these facilities as we move towards a blended working solution.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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207. To ask the Minister for Health the steps taken by agencies under the remit of his Department to support the implementation of the national remote work strategy Making Remote Work; the approximate number or percentage of staff within these agencies who have access to cloud services for remote videoconferencing and the capacity to work remotely; if there are plans to increase this percentage; the framework under which procurement for this is managed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45387/21]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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The agencies under the aegis of my Department are currently working in line with Government COVID-19 guidance, meaning that the majority of staff who could work from home, have worked from home during the pandemic period. Guidance now provides for a phased and staggered approach in respect of the return to the workplace being possible from 20th September onwards.

A central framework for Blended Working in the Civil Service for the post-Covid era will be finalised in conjunction with employee representatives over the coming months, and after that it is expected that the public service will follow suit. This framework will inform the development of organisation level blended working policies tailored to the specific requirements of each agency, whilst ensuring a consistency of approach across the sectors.

Once agreed and introduced, staff of the agencies under the aegis of my Department can apply to their own HR manager, via the application form in the Framework, for a blended working pattern. It is not possible at present to predict what the capacity in respect of applications for blended working post Covid will be.

In line with the Government campaign - #MakingRemoteWork – I am supportive of the national remote working strategy, and of the agencies under the aegis of my Department facilitating all reasonable and practical applications for blended working in the post-Covid era, while ensuring the continued effective and efficient delivery of business.

In respect of the elements of the Deputy’s question regarding remote video conferencing and the framework associated with same, I have sought a response from each of the Non-Commercial State Agencies, and once that information has been received, I will revert to the Deputy under separate cover. I have asked the HSE to respond directly to the Deputy in respect of the staff of the HSE and the S.38 agencies under their aegis.