Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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352. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the supports available to employers and employees to promote remote and flexible working; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31902/25]

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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349. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if his Department will consider introducing incentives for employers to offer remote and hybrid working options to employees with young children, long commutes, or disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31897/25]

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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350. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if he plans to bring forward legislation to incentivise remote and hybrid working in the private sector during the lifetime of this Government; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31898/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 352, 349 and 350 together.

There has been a significant long-term shift in attitudes to remote work, and flexible working arrangements more broadly, amongst both employers and workers throughout the country since the pandemic. Acceptance of remote, hybrid and flexible working is high, and the evidence suggests that they are here to stay.

The Work Life Balance Act 2023, which establishes the right to request remote working for all workers- along with the right of parents and carers to request other forms of flexible working arrangement - and initiatives such as the National Remote Work Strategy, reflect the Government’s commitment to facilitating these changes in a way which maximises their economic, social and environmental benefits. Development and delivery of the National Remote Strategy was overseen by the Remote Work Interdepartmental Group, based in my Department.

Programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland’s Future, re-affirms this commitment to promoting flexible working arrangements that benefit both workers and employers.

Remote working, and the adoption of flexible working arrangements more generally, represent a significant opportunity for creating a more inclusive labour market and society, particularly for women, people with caring responsibilities, people returning to the workforce, older people and people with disabilities, people living in rural Ireland and people with long commutes. This in turn provides employers with access to a larger talent pool, with remote and flexible working options representing powerful tools for staff recruitment and retention which improves labour market performance overall.

It is also worth emphasising the contribution of flexible and remote working arrangements to achieving Ireland’s record levels of female labour force participation and in turn high employment rates.

In terms of Ireland’s evolving suite of policies and supports for remote and flexible working for employees and employers, I would highlight the following:

• The right to request a remote working arrangement for all employees was commenced through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 on 6 March 2024. Employers are obliged to have regard to the Code of Practice and the other requirements of the Act when considering requests for remote working. Employees have recourse to the Workplace Relations Commission if the employer fails to comply with the legislation. Providing a right to request supports and facilitates remote working in Ireland, and at the same time, supports a productive and competitive business environment.
• There are provisions in the legislation for the remote working aspects of the Act to be reviewed not earlier than one year and not later than two years after the commencement of the legislation. Therefore, as required by the legislation, my Department will be carrying out a review of the operation of the right to request remote working provisions of the Act by March 2026.
• Similarly, a review on the Right to Request Flexible working for parents and carers is to take place in the coming year. This review will also examine the feasibility of extending the right to request flexible working to all workers. Officials in the Department of Children, Disability and Equality are in the early stages of planning the review. The Department of Children, Disability and Equality is also currently developing the next Whole of Government National Strategy for Women and Girls. Within the new Strategy, and the Action Plan that is to follow, the Government will seek to address the gendered norms in caring responsibilities and promote and extend the range of supports available, such as flexible working and family leaves.
• The Code of Practice on the Right to Disconnect was introduced April 2021 by the WRC, followed by an enhanced income tax deduction amounting to 30 percent of heat, electricity and broadband expenses for people working from home announced in Budget 2022.
• My Department continues to update its Guidance for Working Remotely webpage for employees and employers to support the safe and successful adoption of remote working practices.
• In addition, the Government co-funds remote work skills training programmes, such as Leading and Hybrid Remote Teams provided by Laois Offaly ETB and Grow Remote, and The FORWARD Programme which provides SMEs personalised support to design, implement, and sustain effective remote work practices.
• The Government's commitment to promoting remote work is also evident through initiatives like the National Hub Network, facilitated by Connected Hubs. This initiative plays a vital role in supporting the National Remote Work Strategy by providing accessible, well-equipped remote working spaces throughout Ireland. With 383 hubs across the country, and plans to expand to 400 by the end of 2025, Connected Hubs is helping to build vibrant local economies, revitalising communities and offering diverse services to remote workers, SMEs, and start-ups. These hubs are essential in enhancing labour market participation and promoting sustainable, flexible work options in line with Government policy.
• The Connected Hubs network is a key driver in Ireland’s push to support remote work and regional development. Aligned with policies like Our Rural Future and the forthcoming National Hub Strategy, the initiative empowers individuals to work remotely while staying rooted in their communities. Hubs provide essential infrastructure and services, from co-working spaces and conference facilities to specialist resources like podcast studios and maker spaces. Beyond workspace provision, they offer vital business supports such as mentoring, start-up accelerators, and sector-specific programmes. By promoting innovation and collaboration, Connected Hubs is shaping the future of work while contributing to balanced regional growth and sustainable development across Ireland.
• Connected Hubs also plays an instrumental role in enabling more inclusive participation in the workforce. By offering high-quality remote workspaces close to home, the network helps remove barriers that often prevent people from entering or remaining in employment, particularly those with disabilities, carers, and individuals with limited access to transport. This aligns with ongoing government commitments, including the doubling of the public sector employment target for people with disabilities to 6% by 2025. Through proximity-based workspace provision, Connected Hubs can support public and private sector organisations in meeting these inclusion objectives, while also stimulating local economies and reducing emissions through reduced commuting.
• Ireland's Digital Connectivity Strategy sets ambitious targets for the continued development of the digital infrastructure which enables successful remote working in Ireland. These targets include providing a Gigabit network to all households and businesses in Ireland by 2028 and access to 5G in all populated areas by 2030. The Programme for Government sets a number of targets which include the completion of the installation of high-speed fibre broadband to 1.1 million people, including homes, farms, and businesses nationwide, by 2026.

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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353. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of remote working requests made under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023 from March 2024 to date; the number of requests approved and rejected by employers, broken down by civil service and private sector, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31903/25]

Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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351. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of people working full-time or part-time in the private sector in roles that are fully on-site, hybrid, or fully remote from 2022 to the present, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31899/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The sudden onset of widespread remote working during the pandemic has led to a broader acceptance by employers and workers of remote working as a viable long-term option with remote and hybrid working arrangements having become a new normal for many workers.

The Government is committed to facilitating remote working in a way which maximises its economic, social and environmental benefits. The Government delivered all 15 actions outlined in the National Remote Work Strategy, the implementation of which were overseen the by the Remote Work Interdepartmental Group based in my Department. Programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland’s Future, re-affirms this commitment to promoting flexible working arrangements that benefit both workers and employers.

An important action delivered under the National Remote Work Strategy has been legislating for the right for all employees to request a remote working arrangement through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023. The relevant provisions of the Act were commenced on 6 March 2024. Employers are obliged to have regard to the Code of Practice and the other requirements of the Act when considering requests for remote working. Employees have recourse to the Workplace Relations Commission if the employer fails to comply with the legislation. There is a need to balance the right to request remote working and at the need to support a productive and competitive business environment.

I am advised that at present, there is no central data collection for requests for remote working arrangements made, approved or rejected in the private under the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act. Similarly, I have also been advised by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation that no data is held centrally for the number of civil servants applying for, or availing of, remote working arrangements, with this data being held by individual Departments.

In terms of the number of workers working from home in the private sector, the Central Statistics Office has advised that while it does not currently have a specific indicator for employment public/private enterprises, NACE sections B-N and R-S are sometimes used to represent the private sector.

On this basis, the CSO reports that, according to the most recent Labour Force Survey, in the first quarter of 2025, 413,500 (or 22%) people working in NACE categories B-N and R-S were ‘mainly’ working from home, with another 294,900 (or 16%) ‘sometimes’ working from home. Taken together, this means that over 708,000 people - or 37% of those in working in NACE categories B-N and R-S were working from home in some form in the first quarter of 2025. In absolute terms, this is the highest number on record. While this represents a decline since the pandemic, the proportion of workers working from home has been relatively stable since the ending of pandemic restrictions in early 2022, with absolute numbers increasing along with the overall expansion of Ireland’s labour force, with the data also showing a notable shift to hybrid working since 2022.

Further details for the number of people working from home and on-site for selected NACE categories, as well as for all persons in the labour force, for the first quarter of each year since 2022 are shown in table 1 below. Additional information can also be found in Table 2 (attached).

The data shows that remote working remains strong, and it is worth highlighting the contribution made by remote working and the Government’s initiatives to facilitate this in achieving Ireland’s inclusive and highly-performing labour market.