We have heard a load of waffle from the Minister of State with responsibility for employment. It is the most anti-worker speech I have heard in this Chamber. He has given a speech, as Minister of State for employment, about the "right to request remote working" that is the biggest load of waffle he could ever say to any worker who believes that they should be given a right to remote working. It should not be lost on any of us that this Chamber is full of politicians who engage in a variety of flexible work practices in order to do our jobs to the best of our abilities. We work from different locations and we have different hours, depending on our day. That is an experience felt by workers across many sectors. The Covid-19 pandemic showed just how many sectors and roles can operate well with flexible, remote and hybrid work. The Bill proposed by my colleague, Deputy Lawlor, would represent great progress. It would stand firm against the push we have seen by employers in some sectors to walk back the progress that has been made. We can see the benefits from other European countries, including a reduction in commuter chaos in cities, better work-life balance, practical benefits for parents and increased activity in local economies. We can see that hybrid and remote work benefits workers and their local economies. Many workers have based their school runs, where they live and how they get to work around flexible work practices. Flexible working practices are key to the future development of rural Ireland. The Minister of State mentioned the CSO on a number of occasions. The CSO has found that 38% of people would consider moving if they could work remotely. Many of us from rural Ireland leave our home towns for cities to study and work. We know there is evidence that indicates people are relocating more to rural and regional areas from the cities of Cork and Dublin. The benefits of remote work to parents in employment is massive. Many parents living in rural Ireland face larger gaps in the provision of childcare and have to undertake longer commutes to accommodate work and childcare. The reduction in hours spent commuting benefits rural workers who can often live at a greater distance from their place of work. The State has estimated that remote working, largely due to the reduction in the amount of time spent in cars, can save 164,407 tonnes of CO2 per year. In conversations on this matter, we often fail to recognise people with illnesses, disabilities and accessibility issues. Flexible work opens up the job market for these people. It removes the barrier of inaccessible workplaces. It allows someone who may not be within commuting distance of their workplace to seek accommodation suitable to their needs. Creating greater opportunities for people with disabilities needs to be a policy priority for the Government. People with disabilities who worked from home during the pandemic cited the biggest benefit as being greater autonomy in managing their disabilities. I want to touch on Cork city very quickly. The transport plan included just one mention of the proposed Cork Luas. We have been told that a railway order application is expected to be lodged, yet we do not have an assured route, public consultation or timelines. These are just meaningful words, while Cork continues to battle commuter chaos. In conclusion, I suggest to the Minister of State that if he is going to stand up and say he is Minister of State for employment, he should not be so anti-worker.

Sentiment score: 0.17