Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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189. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the reason that some sections of public-service staff who have been successfully and efficiently working from home are being recalled on-site to the office, while other sections of their Department can continue to work from home; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44723/22]

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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190. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform if public service-staff who have efficiently and successfully worked from home will be allowed continue to do so, particularly in the context of the workplace energy costs incurred by the State; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44724/22]

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 189 and 190 together.

You will be aware that the Government has committed in the Programme for Government to mandating public sector employers to move to 20% home and remote working.

In the case of the Civil Service, remote working will be facilitated into the future on a blended basis, with the aim of achieving the goal in the Programme for Government. In this context, my Department, in collaboration with Civil Service employers, Trade Unions and Staff Associations, has developed a Blended Working Policy Framework for Civil Service Organisations.

The Framework focuses on the longer-term approach to remote working in the Civil Service and will assist in providing a consistent approach across the wider public service. The Framework supports commitments contained in a number of strategies which this Government has launched. These include the National Remote Working Strategy, Our Rural Future, the Climate Action Plan and the National Planning Framework.

I, along with Minister of State Smyth, published the Framework in March this year. The Framework provides broad strategic direction to individual organisations in the Civil Service to develop tailored policies on blended working that are appropriate to their business needs. In developing their own blended working policies, Departments and Offices have the flexibility to determine matters such as the roles that are suitable for blended working and the proportion of time individual employees work remotely versus onsite.

The role of the Civil Service is to provide efficient, high-quality services and Departments and Offices must determine how the implementation of blended working arrangements will align with their business needs. Therefore, access to blended working by civil servants must be dependent on Departments and Offices having the ability to meet the needs of their business. Remote working will not be available to employees on a 100 percent basis as some physical attendance at workplaces will be required to facilitate face-to-face meetings, training and other key events deemed necessary by the employer.

In relation to workplace energy costs incurred by the State, a suite of energy-efficiency measures across the public sector has recently been approved by the Cabinet. All public sector bodies will, from September, take a leading role in lowering their energy consumption and costs as a first step in the new Autumn Reduce Your Use energy-efficiency campaign. This campaign is designed to target reductions in energy use, including, targeted reductions in energy use by public sector bodies, through simple and easy to implement measures such as making more efficient use of buildings where occupancy is low, at certain times, due to remote working. This initiative is the first in a series of actions expected on energy efficiency, security and supply over the coming weeks.