I thank Deputy Lawlor bringing this important legislation forward. I have never been very good at striking a good work-life balance, it has to be said. I doubt many in this Chamber are. I have always been a hard worker, perhaps even obsessive, but one of the great things about being human is the opportunity to grow and evolve, to develop the ability to rest and experience joy, to cultivate relationships and to enjoy life to the full. That is what this Bill is about. There are, of course, jobs where remote working is not possible, for example a TD, and there are parts of jobs or specific times where in-person collaboration is paramount for the task at hand. The Bill does give due regard to this, despite what a backbench TD might write in The Journal, including the capacity of the remote location to support the carrying-out of tasks and duties as required by the employer. However, it goes further than the current legislation in empowering workers contribute positively to their work culture while engaging in remote work. During Covid, I was working with a startup in health technology doing really interesting things in connecting people to remote care. This company had taken seriously the question of enabling people to work remotely for several years before Covid. It was ahead of its time not just in considering the concept of enabling workers to engage fully but also in how the company's operating practices and culture supported people to do their best work and attracted exceptional talent regardless of geography. As a Dublin-based company, we were able to hire people in Cork and Galway and even in the far reaches of Donegal. There is an exceptional opportunity to use remote work to re-energise rural Ireland, ensuring that high-income labour opportunities are more equally distributed and that the associated spending power becomes part of local communities. I urge the Government to consider this Bill as a matter of utmost importance for workers, companies and the communities we are trying to build.

Sentiment score: 0.34