Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)
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163. To ask the Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection the reasons his Department has changed its policy on blended work for staff of his Department; the rationale for the change; what it will mean for staff; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3841/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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My Department is supportive of blended working and was one of the first to introduce a blended working policy. This Policy, developed in line with the Blended Working Policy Framework for Civil Service Organizations, offers a varied attendance model, depending on the staff role and business needs.

The ability to effectively meet the needs of each business area and ensuring high-quality delivery of customer service are critical considerations in determining blended working arrangements and the policy is reviewed on an ongoing basis.

In 2024 the minimum number of days for staff to attend the office was one day per week. Of the approximately 7,000 employees of the department, 12% had an arrangement to attend on this basis whilst the remainder attend the office between two and five days per week. Following consideration of the experience of blended working and prior to the commencement of the annual process for staff applications, it was decided to increase the minimum office attendance to two days per week, with effect from February 2025. This change is considered necessary to provide sufficient opportunity for in-person interaction with colleagues in order to sustain organisation knowledge exchange, culture, and provision of support to staff.