Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
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45. To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade if his Department and each body and agency under the remit of his Department has achieved the Government-mandated public sector remote working target of 20%; when this was achieved in each instance; the current percentage of staff working remotely; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25688/24]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Department of Foreign Affairs is committed to ensuring a positive and productive working environment, and to sustaining strong standards of performance and delivery on our high level goals for the people we serve at home and abroad.

In this context, my Department recognises the shift to flexible and remote working that has taken place in Ireland and globally over the last number of years and the opportunities that advances in technology present in terms of how and where we perform work. My Department’s Blended Working at HQ policy was launched in September 2022. It is framed within the context of the broader Civil Service Policy on Blended Working, which when published in March 2022 set an initial blended working target of at least 20%. A separate Blended Working Framework was established for DFA diplomatic missions abroad in early 2023.

The initial Civil Service target was met by DFA in September 2022. The proportion of civil servants that had approved blended working arrangements at HQ offices on the NSSO system stood at 46% at the beginning of June 2024, and I expect that this percentage will rise further.

While acknowledging that blended working may not be suitable in all cases, both from personal and organisational perspectives, the Department is committed to expanding available options while taking account of business needs.

There are no bodies or agencies under the remit of the Department of Foreign Affairs.