Flexible Work and Commuter Delays: Motion [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-21
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Barry Heneghan (IND), Dublin Bay North

Gabhaim míle buíochas le Páirtí an Lucht Oibre as ucht an intent atá thaobh thiar den tairiscint seo. Tá sé an-tábhachtach, go háirithe sna laethanta seo, go bhfuil an deis ag daoine trasna na tíre remote working a dhéanamh, go háirithe i gcomhthéacs an tráchta atá ar na bóithre, na timpeallachta agus gach rud mar sin. Tá a fhios ag gach duine - tá staitisticí ar fáil - go bhfuil sé an-mhaith i gcomthéacs an mhéid CO2 a bhíonn ag teacht amach ó charranna na ndaoine a bhíonn ag dul isteach chuig a n-áiteanna oibre.
I am not supporting the motion because, as Deputy Currie mentioned, the legal right to request remote work, and the framework around it, recognises the important reality that not every job can be done remotely and not every workplace can operate in the same way. The existing system should be reviewed and, in that regard, I support the intent behind the motion and I welcome this discussion. The legislation we need to create must provide certainty for employees. Arís, gabhaim míle buíochas to the cross-party group on remote work, of which I am part. I spoke to people in Grow Remote yesterday and this morning and they gave me the statistic that Ireland was losing 100,000 jobs due to the current remote working system. We need to examine it with a view to changing it. Access to remote working expands access to jobs for carers. I welcome the work done by the people in the cross-party group.
In north Dublin, there are people who would be 15 minutes from work on a bicycle but when it comes to getting there on a rainy day, they get into traffic congestion and it is not ideal. Those people need to be facilitated if we are serious about tackling congestion, improving quality of life and meeting our climate targets. As we saw recently, we are in line not to meet those targets. We are dealing with this in the climate committee. Action on remote working could be a very important step that would help.
The task now is for Members from all parties and none to work together to see how we can best benefit our economy through remote working, to scale it properly and to support employers and employees. I welcome many of the points made by speakers on all sides of the House today. If we can do this correctly, it will be very beneficial to the Irish people.

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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