Written answers
Wednesday, 24 January 2024
Department of Justice and Equality
Departmental Staff
Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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162. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide figures for the number of staff directly employed in her 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 her 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 she will make a statement on the matter. [3242/24]
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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In May 2022, my Department launched its formal blended working policy, which is closely aligned to the Blended Working Framework for the Civil Service.
The policy indicates a minimum requirement for staff whose role has been deemed suitable for blended working to attend at the office on 2 days per week, to ensure team connectivity and collaboration. However, given the diverse nature of the work undertaken by my Department, the number of days that staff are required to attend the office depends on the business needs of each area.
While some roles can be performed to a high standard on a blended basis, a significant number of roles are not deemed suitable for blended working due to the requirement for full-time, on-site presence, in order to provide services to the public or discharge the other functions of such roles.
My Department is a client of the National Shared Services Office (NSSO). I regret it is not possible to provide all the detail requested by the Deputy but, based on the NSSO data as of 22 January 2024, the total number of staff employed directly by my Department is 1,928. Of these 1,158 or 60% are currently approved for a form of blended working. The number of people approved for blended working at 31 December 2023 and 2022 was 1,129 and 1,048 respectively.
My Department keeps its Blended Working Policy under review and will take into account the experience to date and any improvements or changes that may need to be made to ensure the policy continues to operate effectively for staff and the public.
Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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163. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide figures for the number of staff directly employed in agencies and bodies directly under her 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 she will provide the figures for 2022 and 2023; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [3260/24]
Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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The information requested is currently being compiled and I will write to the Deputy directly once the information is to hand.
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