Written answers
Wednesday, 14 September 2022
Department of An Taoiseach
Departmental Staff
Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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59. To ask the Taoiseach the number of persons employed in his Department that have a formal agreement to work from home one day per week, two days per week and five days per week; his Department’s policy in respect of facilitating requests by persons to work from home; and the number of persons that have made requests to work from home in 2021 and to date in 2022, that have been declined. [44588/22]
Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a significant number of the staff in my Department have been working from home since March 2020 with some business units maintaining a continuous on site presence throughout due to the nature of their work supporting the essential operation of Government Buildings to support the work of the Taoiseach and Government.
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. In line with the rest of the Civil Service, my Department is in the process of finalising its blended working policy for the longer-term which will be implemented in the coming weeks.
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 and will set out the application process by which staff of my Department can formally request blended working arrangements. In the meantime, remote working alongside attendance on site will continue in line with business needs.
More detailed information on requests for blended working arrangements will be available once the Department's Blended Working Policy has been finalised and implemented.
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