Rory Hearne (Dublin North-West, Social Democrats)
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962. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the exploratory work carried out by his Department in respect of introducing a four-day working week; if he plans to meet with an organisations (details supplied); if there has been any communication between his Department and the organisation since the initial commitment made by the Government in 2021 to fund additional research in this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43728/25]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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My Department, in common with the Civil Service and public sector generally, provides a wide array of flexible working arrangements including reduced and flexible working time, and this reflects the Civil Service’s commitment to leading by example in relation to providing staff with flexible working options.

More broadly, the Government has been taking a series of measures to strengthen workers’ rights and improve working conditions. These include the introduction of statutory sick pay, moving towards a living wage, the protection of workplace tips, pension auto-enrolment, an additional bank holiday and the Work Life Balance and Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023.

The Work Life Balance Act 2023, together with initiatives such as the National Remote Work Strategy, reflects the Government’s commitment to enable increased flexible working options to promote better work-life balance, higher female labour market participation and a more inclusive labour market, fewer emissions from commuting and achieving Ireland’s ambitious climate action goals. Programme for Government 2025, Securing Ireland’s Future, re-affirms this commitment to promoting flexible working arrangements that benefit both workers and employers.

The Work Life Balance Act established important new rights for employees in all sectors of the economy. These include the right of all workers to request remote working, the right of parents and carers to request flexible working arrangements such as adjusted working patterns and reduced hours. The right to request flexible working arrangements for parents and carers was 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.

Under the Act, a review of 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.

In this context, I note the interest in the potential impacts of reduced working time, including the concept of a four-day working week. This discussion was stimulated by the publication of the interim findings of the Irish four-day workweek research project and pilot undertaken by Four-Day Week Ireland, UCD and Boston College in November 2022.

The Irish pilot saw a four-day working week being piloted in 12 businesses in Ireland, for a period of 6 months during 2022, with most participating firms opting for a model based on employees working four days while continuing to receive 100% of full time pay for 100% productivity. I note with interest the reported benefits of the four-day workweek as recorded during this trial, such as improved productivity, revenue and staff retention for some participating businesses, alongside improved work-life balance and reduced stress for employees. I note that reported benefits were particularly marked for female employees.

While these pilots have been limited to a small number of companies over a relatively short period of time, this research makes a contribution to an important debate and growing evidence base around reduced working time initiative.

The deputy refers to additional research to be carried out on this topic. With support from my Department, a research project was to be initiated in 2023 in collaboration with the Department of Climate, Energy and Environment. Unfortunately, this project did not go ahead at the time, due to resource constraints. However, I welcome any future research into new ways of working both in Ireland and internationally which have the potential to inform future policy.

Four Day Week Ireland met with my predecessor, Simon Coveney, TD, during 2023. My office has not had any contact with that organisation since then. It is important to add that my Department does not have responsibility for setting working arrangements that apply in the Civil Service or wider public sector but we remain very interested in the lessons that can be learned from pilot studies in this area.