Flexible Work and Commuter Delays: Motion [Private Members] Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21 ============================================================ George Lawlor (LAB), Wexford Even the Minister of State will agree that the Government’s counter-motion is particularly poor and disappointing. The journey from my county, Wexford, and so many others, and indeed parts of Dublin, has become a daily test of endurance. Whether workers are trapped in endless tailbacks on the M11 or squeezed onto overcrowded trains that take much longer than they should, they are paying the price for a system that cannot and does not meet what they require simply to get to work. Hours upon hours are lost before the workday even begins, simply destroying workers’ quality of life. The commute is not just inconvenient; it is unsustainable. People are doing everything right but the infrastructure around them is absolutely failing. No workers should have to fight as hard as they do just to get to their jobs. Hours are stolen from them and their families, affecting productivity and the very quality of life that we as a country claim to value. We often speak in this Chamber about supporting working people and building a modern and competitive country, yet we continue to tolerate a system that is sapping the energy of workers and punishing them simply for trying to earn a living. Flexible working is not, and certainly should not be, a luxury. It must not be a favour granted by employers when convenient; it is a practical, evidence-based response to the realities of modern life in this country. It would most certainly reduce congestion, lower stress, improve employee retention, give people better access to employment and allow people time to become immersed in their communities rather than festering in tailback after tailback. When people have the ability to work remotely or stagger their hours, we see fewer cars on the roads and a transport network that can, if invested in, function as originally intended. We must not keep asking workers to absorb the cost of the inefficiencies created by the State itself. We must not keep pretending long commutes are an unavoidable fact of Irish life; they are not. They are a policy failure, and we in this Chamber have the power to correct it. This motion is about dignity. It is about recognising that time is a finite resource and that no worker should be forced to sacrifice it unnecessarily. It is also about creating a future for workers in which flexibility is the norm and not some sort of bequest from the boss. This motion seeks to create a workplace measured by output rather than a person’s presence, and circumstances in which our roads and public transport infrastructure are supported by smart policies rather than held back and stifled by outdated rules of management. If we want an Ireland that is resilient, innovative and humane, we must make decisions that facilitate the workers who contribute greatly to our economy. Flexible work should not just be an option: it should be an obligation. It is time to deliver a system that respects the people who keep this country moving. With the Government totally failing to address the right to remote work in its counter-motion, we in the Labour Party are left with no choice but to bring forward legislation now on a real right to remote work. We will publish that legislation next week. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-21/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:51+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-01-21