Written answers
Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Department of Housing, Planning, and Local Government
Departmental Staff
Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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137. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide figures for the number of staff directly employed in his Department who work from home/remotely as part of their working week; the percentage of staff on an overall basis who work from home at least one day a week; the number of working hours on average per week that staff in his Department work from home; the gender breakdown of those who avail of the opportunity to work from home/remotely; if they will provide the figures for 2022 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3241/24]
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department formally launched its Blended Working policy in July 2022, which has been developed in line with the central policy framework for Blended Working in the Civil Service. My Department moved to the implementation phase of this policy and commenced accepting applications for Blended Working in early October 2022. Rollout of Blended Working across the entire organisation was completed by end of March, 2023. Prior to the implementation of Blended Working on a rolling basis between October 2022 and March 2023, staff of my Department worked under transitional arrangements following the lifting of public health restrictions in response to COVID-19 in February 2022. These transitional arrangements involved attendance in the office for 2 days per week, with additional days in the office subject to business need.
Under the Blended Working policy, staff of my Department with suitable roles, performance and remote workstations may apply for a blended working arrangement. The blended working model used in my Department specifies 3 days working in the office and 2 days working from home, with a flexible option of 2 days a week in the office and 3 days working from home. This flexibility is at the discretion of the Head of Business Unit and takes account of business needs to ensure service delivery and organisational cohesion. The Blended Working Framework does not allow for fully remote work and 5 days per week working from home arrangements are not available in my Department.
My Department is not in a position to provide the average working hours that staff work from home, as the utilisation of the clock-in system is only mandatory for staff who are eligible to accrue flexitime. Staff on a standard work pattern are expected to work a minimum of 7 hours each day and are required to be on duty during core hours.
The number, percentage and gender breakdown of staff working from home / remotely is set out in the table below.
| *2022 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| Total number of staff as of 31st December | 1605 | 1717 |
| Number of staff who work from home/remotely as part of working week | 1298 | 1359 |
| Percentage of Staff who work from home at least one day per week | 80.87% | 79.15% |
| Gender breakdown of those who work from home /remotely |
Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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138. To ask the Minister for Housing, Planning, and Local Government to provide figures for the number of staff directly employed in agencies and bodies directly under his aegis who work from home/remotely as part of their working week; the percentage of staff on an overall basis who work from home at least one day a week; the number of working hours on average per week that staff in relevant agencies and bodies work from home; the gender breakdown of those who avail of the opportunity to work from home/remotely; if he will provide the figures for 2022 and 2023; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3259/24]
Darragh O'Brien (Dublin Fingal, Fianna Fail)
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My Department does not maintain the requested information in respect of the State bodies under its aegis.
Arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost effective system to address queries directly to the relevant bodies. The contact email addresses in this regard are set out in the table below:
| An Bord Pleanála | oireachtasqueries@pleanala.ie |
|---|---|
| An Fóram Uisce | info@nationalwaterforum.ie |
| Approved Housing Bodies Regulatory Authority | oireachtasqueries@ahbregulator.ie |
| Docklands Oversight and Consultative Forum | infodocklands@dublincity.ie |
| Ervia | oireachtas@ervia.ie |
| Gas Networks Ireland | oireachtas@ervia.ie |
| Heritage Council | oireachtas@heritagecouncil.ie |
| Housing and Sustainable Communities Agency | publicreps@housingagency.ie |
| Housing Finance Agency | oireachtas.enquiries@hfa.ie |
| Land Development Agency | oireachtas@lda.ie |
| Local Government Management Agency | corporate@lgma.ie |
| Maritime Area Regulatory Authority | oireachtas@mara.gov.ie |
| National Oversight and Audit Commission | info@noac.ie |
| National Traveller Accommodation Consultative Committee | ntacc@housing.gov.ie |
| Office of the Planning Regulator | oireachtas@opr.ie |
| Pyrite Resolution Board | oireachtasinfo@pyriteboard.ie |
| Residential Tenancies Board | OireachtasMembersQueries@rtb.ie |
| Tailte Éireann | reps@tailte.ie |
| Uisce Éireann | oireachtasmembers@water.ie |
| Valuation Tribunal | info@valuationtribunal.ie |
| Waterways Ireland | ceoffice@waterwaysireland.org |
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