Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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31. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [45367/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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I wish to indicate to the Deputy that Departments and Offices are currently working in line with Government COVID-19 guidance, which provides for home working to continue where possible.

My Department is an active participant on the interdepartmental working group that is developing a central policy framework for Blended Working in the Civil Service. It is expected that this will be finalised in conjunction with employee representative bodies over the coming months. This framework will inform the development of organisation level blended working policies tailored to the specific requirements of each Department/Office, whilst ensuring a consistency of approach across key policy areas. Furthermore, my Department’s Covid-19 Response Management Group meets weekly and continues to consolidate work already advanced in response to the pandemic in line with on-going Government guidance and recommendations.

The ICT services of the Department are provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) for all staff. These services support remote videoconferencing and the capacity to work remotely. The ICT equipment procured for staff to work remotely has been procured in line with the appropriate procurement guidelines.

In excess of 93% of staff are enabled to work from home. Those who are not enabled to work from home have continued to work on-site over the last 18 months. With regards to these members of staff, it should be mentioned that their onsite presence is required due to the nature of their work.

Emer Higgins (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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32. To ask the Minister for Finance 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. [45384/21]

Paschal Donohoe (Dublin Central, Fine Gael)
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The following is the position in relation to those bodies under the aegis of my Department that have employees:

The Central Bank of Ireland, which also provides staffing and facilities for the Investor Compensation Company DAC, is continuing to evolve its ways of working so that it is a fulfilling workplace for its staff and an effective organisation that can deliver on its mandate in the public interest. Its people and systems have adapted well to the remote environment during which the vast majority of staff worked from home in line with public health guidelines. As public health guidelines change, more staff will begin returning to the office on a phased and limited basis. The Bank’s staff are well-equipped to work remotely, with the vast majority using videoconferencing, collaboration software and other services remotely, as such the Bank has no requirement to increase the participation in these services at this time. Some staff, due to the nature of their work, will need to be onsite e.g. security and catering. It is envisaged that the majority of staff will work in a hybrid model in the future.

The Credit Review Office has two members of staff, both of whom have been working remotely since March 2020.

The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) has, since March 2020, taken measures to facilitate remote working in order to comply with public health measures in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, the FSPO has ensured the continuity of its operations by facilitating remote working for the majority of its staff, with only a small number of roles requiring office attendance for essential business needs to ensure it continues to fulfil its statutory role and meet the needs of its customers. All FSPO staff, including new employees, have access to the necessary IT equipment, cloud services for remote videoconferencing and the capacity to work remotely. For this reason, it is not envisaged that any further procurement is required by the FSPO in order to support the implementation of the national remote work strategy Making Remote Work. All decisions in relation to future working arrangements for the FSPO will be taken in the context of public health guidance, guidance from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, business needs and staff welfare.

All staff of the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council have been working remotely since March 2020 and have the capacity and necessary resources, including cloud services, to work remotely and it is planned to continue to maintain this. The Council has a remote working policy in place with a hybrid-model applying on a physical return to the office. A Procurement Policy is in place which aims to ensure that the Fiscal Council, relative to the nature and volume of procurement undertaken, complies with its legal obligations, and procures openly, objectively, and transparently to get the best value for money in line with the Guidelines of the Office of Government Procurement.

Employees of the Office of the Comptroller & Auditor General are currently working in line with Government COVID-19 guidance, which provides for home working to continue where possible. A central policy framework for Blended Working in the Civil Service will be finalised in conjunction with employee representatives over the coming months — the move to blended working supports commitments in the national remote working strategy. Due to the nature of the work of the Office, a degree of remote working was already facilitated prior to the current pandemic, a teleworking policy was in place and staff had the necessary equipment to work outside of the Office, at home or in client premises. All staff of the Office have access to teleconferencing facilities and access to other platforms is arranged as required on a case by case basis. A model for the future of work in the Office, developed with extensive staff consultation, has recently been approved by the Audit Board. The model will facilitate a hybrid working arrangement enabling staff to divide their time between remote and in-office work while ensuring that the business objectives are achieved. The model will form the basis of a blended working policy for the Office to be developed once the central policy framework has been agreed.

The National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) introduced remote working for employees in July 2019 by way of the NTMA Remote Working Guide. Since the onset of the pandemic in 2020, and in accordance with Government advice, NTMA employees have predominantly, approximately 95% of staff, worked from home. It is the NTMA’s expectation that a hybrid working model will be available to all employees and the NTMA Remote Working Guide will be updated to reflect this. The NTMA has the IT infrastructure in place to facilitate staff working remotely. This infrastructure has been procured in line with the NTMA Procurement Policy.

The NTMA assigns staff to Home Building Finance Ireland, the National Asset Management Agency and the Strategic Banking Corporation of Ireland.

The Office of the Revenue Commissioners is actively developing its blended working policy in response to the Making Remote Work strategy. Revenue already has the technology in place to support remote working for all staff, noting that some staff such as Customs Officers cannot work remotely. Revenue currently supports approximately 4,500 remote workers on a daily basis. Video conferencing facilities are available to all staff including all remote workers and this service operates in the cloud. This technology was procured pre-Covid-19 via a tender for Revenue’s Office productivity suite.

The Tax Appeals Commission (TAC) has drafted a remote working policy for its staff members and is currently awaiting final guidelines and direction from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform before implementation takes place. To date, no staff member has requested remote working on a permanent or hybrid-basis but the Commission conducted an internal anonymous survey in May 2021 which indicated a level of interest in some form of hybrid working. From 20 September 2021, in accordance with Government recommendations, staff physically returned to the office on a staggered basis. To maintain social distancing, the overall daily number of staff attending the office is limited and this will be an excellent pilot for hybrid working post pandemic. The ICT services of the Commission are provided by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer which already supports remote videoconferencing and the capacity to work remotely.