Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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I wish to inform the Deputy that my Department launched its Blended Working Policy on 1st July 2022. The policy was developed in line with the key principles and parameters of the Civil Service Blended Working Policy Framework.

A key principle of my Departments policy is to ensure business needs are met to the highest professional standards while allowing for the maximum amount of flexibility and personal choice for our staff in relation to their working arrangements. Blended working arrangements are agreed at a local level in each business unit. This can vary week to week, depending on business needs.

Blended working is available to the majority of staff, with the exception of a small number in roles that are customer facing, where office attendance is necessary to undertake the duties of the role. These roles account for approximately 5% of all staff. In addition, a small number of staff opt to work in the office full time and do not wish to avail of remote working.

At the end of 2022 over 92% of staff availed of remote working at least one day a week. This was consistent with the end of 2023, which also showed over 92% of staff availing of remote working at least one day a week.

The average daily percentage of staff members working remotely was 35.46% in 2023. This is equivalent of 14.62 hours per week gross, 12.41 hours per week net. The average daily percentage of staff working remotely in 2022 was 46.56%, which is the equivalent of 19.21 hours gross, 16.30 hours net per week. The remainder were working in the office or on leave.

At the end of 2022, of the staff availing of remote working, the gender breakdown was 45% female (97.74% of all female staff) and 55% male (87.78% of all male staff). At the end of 2023, this was 48% female (98.74% of all female staff) and 52% male (86.67% of all male staff).

Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The bodies under the aegis of my Department have provided the information requested in relation to remote working in respect of 2022 and 2023 below.

The Central Bank of Ireland remains committed to having a hybrid working model in place that provides two-way flexibility to both employees and the organisation. The model allows the majority of roles (+90% of approximately 2,000 employees) to choose to work from home up to 50% of their working days each month, if the requirements of the role allow. The Bank does not track the work location of employees, rather their working patterns are agreed at the team level with their managers. There are a minority of roles (<10%) that are required to work onsite more frequently than 50% on the basis that core aspects of their role can only be delivered onsite. Employees can also choose to work onsite more than 50% of their working days if it is their preference to do so.

In respect of the Credit Review Office, 3 staff members worked remotely in 2022 and 2023. All staff worked from home at least 1 day per week, with 21 hours being the average home working hours per week. In 2022, the gender breakdown of those working remotely was 100% female; in 2023 it was 66% female/33% male.

The Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman (FSPO) does not track remote working hours on an hourly basis, but rather the figures provided are estimated based on the Remote Working Policy which allows staff to access up to 3 days per week remote working (role dependent). The number of staff that worked remotely in 2022 and 2023 was 78.6 (FTE) and 83 (FTE) respectively. 95% of staff worked from home at least 1 day per week in 2022 while in 2023 this percentage was 96.5%. 1,745 hours on average were worked from home per week in 2022 and 1,843 in 2023. The gender breakdown in 2022 was 62% female/38% male and in 2023 it was 53% female/47% male.

The Investor Compensation Company DAC had 8 remote workers for each year in question. 100% of staff availed of working at least 1 day per week in both years. The average home working hours per week was 230 in 2022 and 175 in 2023. In both years, the gender breakdown of remote workers was 63% female/37% male.

In the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (IFAC), 6 staff worked remotely in 2022 and 5 in 2023. In 2022, 100% off staff worked from home at least 1 day per week; the average remote working hours was 32 per staff member per week. In 2023, 83% off staff worked from home at least 1 day per week and worked on average 32 hours per staff member from home per week. For both years, the gender breakdown of remote workers was 80% male/20 female.

Under the hybrid working policy of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) all employees are eligible to work from home up to 3 days per week (21.75 hours), subject to business requirements. Actual average home working hours varies from week to week. In 2022 and 2023, approximately 95% of staff worked remotely, with an average of 21.75 hours per staff member per week. The gender breakdown for both years was 52% Female/48% Male. The overall gender split, by reference to eligibility for remote working, is based on actual year end headcount.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 Comptroller and Auditor General had 180 staff working remotely in 2022 and 174 in 2023. 99% of staff worked from home at least 1 day per week in 2022 while, this figure was 96% in 2023. On average, 20 hours per employee per week were worked from home in both years. The gender breakdown of remote workers was 51% male/49% female in 2022 and 50% male/50% female in 2023.

In 2022, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners had 5,418 staff working remotely and 5,581 in 2023. 79% of staff worked from home at least 1 day per week in both years. The gender breakdown of remote workers for both years was 65% female/35% male. The average home working hours per week is based on a 7 hour working day, pro-rated for part time workers. Staff working from home are required to fulfil their contracted hours. This is in line with the Department of Public Expenditure, NPD Delivery and Reform’s Circular 14/2022 Revision of Working Hours in the Civil Service.

All staff in the Tax Appeals Commission were formally given the option to avail of blended working from September 2022. This refers to working arrangements that involve a combination of working from the work premises and working remotely, based on an agreement between the employee and the manager, and approved through the application process. All staff have availed of blended working. The Commission’s physical office in Leeson Close continues to be the primary work place for all employees, and there is a requirement to attend the office on two specific days each week agreed with the manager; and/or on days as and when required. 33 staff worked remotely in 2022, working on average 693 hours per week. In 2023, 33 staff worked remotely, working on average 672 hours per week. All staff worked from home at least 1 day per week in both years. In 2022, the gender breakdown was 58% female/42% male and in 2023, the breakdown was 59% female/41% male.