I thank Deputy Currie for raising this important issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Burke. As the Deputy is aware, there has been a significant long-term shift in attitudes to remote and flexible working among both employers and workers throughout the country since the pandemic in particular. Acceptance of remote and flexible working is high and the evidence suggests that they are here to stay. The most recent data from the Central Statistics Office shows that in the second quarter of this year, over 1 million people were reported to be working from home at least some of the time. Within this, over 500,000 people were usually working from home, down from peak levels of close to 775,000 in 2021. These are extraordinary numbers. The Government is committed to facilitating remote and flexible working in a way that maximises their economic, social and environmental benefits, and the Department has worked with colleagues across government to develop and deliver all 15 actions outlined in the strategy to which the Deputy referred. Actions delivered under the strategy include legislating for the right of all workers to request a remote working arrangement through the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, publication of the code of practice on the right to disconnect, and significant investment in Ireland’s national hub network and broadband infrastructure. In 2022, research undertaken by the Department found that remote working was likely to have a positive impact on the Irish economy and society. The research examined the impact of remote working on several key policy areas, finding positive effects on the economy and society, including enhanced labour and employment opportunities for cohorts traditionally more distant from the labour market. The Minister, Deputy Burke, would highlight, for example, the contribution of flexible and remote working arrangements to achieving Ireland's record levels of female labour force participation, as the Deputy mentioned, and, in turn, record employment rates overall. For context and to emphasise this point, the most recent labour force survey data confirms that our policies are working, with record numbers of people in employment. There were 2.8 million people at work in the second quarter of the year, an annual gain of 63,900 jobs. Since 2020, we have added approximately 660,000 extra jobs. These are exceptional numbers and remote and hybrid working has helped. The programme for Government recognises the contribution of remote and flexible working to achieving our strong and inclusive labour market and reaffirms our commitment to promoting flexible working arrangements that benefit both workers and employers.

Sentiment score: 0.35

The Minister has mentioned the upcoming Working in Ireland survey, which the Department has funded. About 5,000 people, north and south of the Border, have been surveyed. The Minister understands the survey has been completed and we can expect the research output in the coming months. We anticipate that there will be a lot of information on a range of labour market issues in this area, and this will be a useful input into the debate on where policy needs to focus. Certainly, the Minister will come back to the Deputy on that, taking into account the matters she has raised in the context of the forthcoming budget.

Sentiment score: 0.16

The Government does support Waterford Airport. I assure the Deputies that the Government is committed to working with all stakeholders to see the Waterford Airport project to lengthen and widen the runway progress. In line with this commitment and the requirements under the Government’s infrastructure guidelines, Waterford Airport was invited earlier this summer to submit a preliminary business case to the Department of Transport. As the Deputies will be aware, the infrastructure guidelines set out the value-for-money guidelines for the evaluation, planning and management of public investment projects. These arrangements apply to all public bodies and all bodies in receipt of Exchequer capital funding of this nature. In relation to the timeline around the development proposal, it was in fact 2018 when Waterford Airport brought forward its proposal for an expanded runway and related services. I understand this proposal was in the form of a letter to the Department of Transport with a one-page overview of the projects proposed, which included high-level indicative costings. Following this, as mentioned, in June 2019 the Government gave approval in principle to an expression of support for the expansion proposal and to providing Exchequer funding of €5 million towards the project, which was then estimated to cost €12 million. Government support at that time was contingent not only on €2 million in local authority funding and €5 million in private investment funding, necessary to complete the project, being committed and any risks relating to cost escalation being borne by the non-State investors, but also on full details of the project being provided to the Department of Transport for appraisal. Despite engagement with the airport over the intervening period, this detail remained outstanding from Waterford Airport until 13 December 2023. I understand the Department prioritised the necessary assessment of the detail provided in line with the requirements under the Department of Transport’s transport appraisal framework. This framework provides guidance to ensure investment schemes in the transport sector can comply with the Government’s infrastructure guidelines. The Deputies will be aware that this detail outlined that the project costings have increased substantially above the original estimated cost of €12 million, to €27 million, deviating significantly from the original proposal. The Exchequer contribution sought has risen from €5 million to €12 million. It needs to be recognised that certain conditions attached to the Government decision of 2019 have not been fulfilled. However, the Government is committed to working with all stakeholders to see this proposal progress and, as such, Waterford Airport has been invited to submit a preliminary business case for consideration. This was all discussed in detail when the Minister, Deputy Darragh O’Brien, met with his Government colleagues the Ministers of State, Deputies Mary Butler and John Cummins, and the CEO of the local authority on 2 July last. Given the Exchequer funding being sought by the airport to support this proposal, the Department of Transport's role is as an approving authority. It will be the airport's role, as the sponsoring agency, to ensure that the necessary detail and evidence are provided in its business case to demonstrate that sufficient demand and industry commitment exist to facilitate regular scheduled passenger services. The Department of Transport will work with the airport in its development of the business case and is available at all times to engage with the airport. Any business case will be assessed as a matter of priority once it is received.

Sentiment score: 0.29

If the Government broke the public spending code, or the infrastructure guidelines in this case, or decided to spend money without doing a proper analysis and proper business case, you guys would rightly be down at the public accounts committee castigating the Government. The Government is committed to working with all stakeholders to progress this project when the business case is received and reviewed. We recognise we are an island nation. We have a dispersed population and an open economy. We need good connectivity with the rest of the world within and outside the country. We are an exporting country. We know that we need all this, but the infrastructure guidelines set out the value-for-money guidelines for the evaluation, planning and management of public investment projects. This applies to all public bodies. This is not just a Waterford thing. All public bodies and everybody in receipt of Exchequer capital funding are required to comply with this. That is why the public accounts committee is there, to hold the Government to account on items such as this. Some may say private investment is there so the State does not need to look as closely, but the State has a different role from that of private investors. We are happy to work with them but we have different functions and different objectives. The State wants its investment protected also. There are also state aid rules from the European Union. At the meeting on 2 July I mentioned, the airport authorities were advised that the Department of Transport will continue to work with them on the development of the business case, which will be prioritised within the Department once it is received. Any potential support will be considered then, when the necessary appraisal is done under the infrastructure guidelines.

Sentiment score: 0.11