Barry Heneghan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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186. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the percentage of staff in his Department working from home for at least two days per week, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26559/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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The Civil Service Blended Working Policy Framework provides an overarching framework to inform Civil Service organisations when developing their own blended working policies and other related initiatives. My Department’s internal blended working policy is fully aligned with that framework. Meeting the business needs of the Department in order to deliver efficient, high-quality services is of paramount importance. In implementing its approach to blended working, the Department aims to strike the balance between striving to be more flexible, efficient and resilient by facilitating blended working and its many benefits where practical, while enabling onsite interaction, collaboration and support as required in order to sustain high levels of productivity and performance at an individual, team and organisational level. The Department's internal blended working policy provides that staff can apply to work remotely for up to two days per week. There is no provision in the policy for remote working on a full-time basis. As part of the Department’s approach, staff formally approved for blended working must attend the office three days per week as a minimum. For staff up to and including Assistant Principal (Higher) level, the percentage currently approved for blended working under the Department’s internal policy is 73%.