Flexible Work and Commuter Delays: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21
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Charles Ward (RDR), Donegal

I thank the Labour Party and Deputy Wall for bringing forward the motion on the right for employees to request flexible and remote working and the introduction of an action plan to improve transport services over the next 12 months. If I could add one thing to the motion it would be to ensure that the infrastructure is in place to make flexibility and remote working possible, in particular in rural areas. It might shock some Deputies to know that parts of Donegal still do not have access to fibre broadband, which is ridiculous in this day and age. I welcome that this week Tory Island finally received broadband, meaning that 118 homes and businesses on the island now have broadband, which is welcome.
The reality is ridiculous and has been going on for far too long. We have to prioritise the upgrading of the national grid, which is essential, particularly in rural areas. There have been many outages in rural areas due to increasing storms, which has made it very difficult for remote working to be a viable option, in particular in Donegal. It is concerning that when we are trying to encourage people not to travel during weather warnings, they are going into offices. There have been incidents where damage has occurred.
Allowing remote working would allow us to alleviate accommodation and home shortages in Dublin, in particular. There are thousands of people from rural communities working in Dublin. If they had the opportunity to work from home they would do so, which would breathe life back into communities. People of all ages want to retire to their home areas. Parents want to raise their children in rural areas where they grew up. They would take the opportunity to move out of cities and back to such areas in the morning if they had the flexibility and option to do so.
People should be given the opportunity to make lives for themselves and have access to work and transport in rural areas. Allowing remote and flexible working would help to breathe life into many towns and villages which have been abandoned and have seen no investment in recent years. It would stop the steady loss of public and essential services that we have seen lately. For example, the village post office in Fanad first opened in 1873 but closed last year. Fintra National School in Killybegs was established in 1841 and now faces closure because it does not have the population to sustain it. Anybody in Donegal who was given the opportunity to move back tomorrow would do so.

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Retrieved: 2026-08-31T01:00:51+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-21