Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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126. To ask the Taoiseach the total number of persons who are employed by his Department; the number who are currently working remotely; and the estimated number of persons in his Department who ordinarily worked from home prior to the Covid-19 pandemic. [33983/22]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently 218.9 whole-time equivalent staff employed in my Department. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant number of the staff of my Department have been working from home since March 2020. A phased return to the workplace has been underway since the easing of restrictive measures on 21 January 2022. The current working arrangements require staff to attend on site at least 2 days per week. While a significant number of staff had remote access to Departmental systems prior to March 2020, no staff had formal remote working arrangements.

In line with the rest of the Civil Service, my Department will finalise and progressively roll-out its blended working policy for the longer-term. This policy will be guided by the Central Policy Framework for Blended Working in the Civil Service as published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform.

In the meantime, remote working alongside attendance on site will continue in line with business needs.