Sinéad Gibney
Dublin Rathdown · Social Democrats · Ireland
“Unfortunately, those are still not entirely clear. Although the Windsor Framework did look to enshrine that policy of no diminution of rights and the non-divergence of rights on either side of the Border, that has not been clear in how it is going to play out.”
“I want to raise one specific sector. Within my portfolio, the culture sector is a good example of where we could see a much better offering in the joining together of the two economic activities. For example, we have a very vibrant production sector for film and television.”
“The other word that is important to bring into any economic discussion and fiscal discussion around a united Ireland is "holistic" because, unfortunately at times, I see the Government looking at the economy as a discrete part of society and neglecting things that fall outside of economic discussion, economic imperatives, and policymaking…”
“There are ways that we can see how our governance of this jurisdiction can be improved simply by the opportunities that will be presented by opening up constitutional change and the discussions that we are all going to have about how we govern ourselves right now and how we may govern an entire island of Ireland.”
“When the Minister of State referred to office roles in Brussels, was he describing roles in NATO headquarters? The international forces the Minister of State is describing are exactly like the coalition that invaded Iraq.”
“I look forward to coming back to the topic of the triple lock in a few questions' time. I have read with extreme concern the reports over the past week on the lack of support provided by the Department of Defence to Women of Honour, whose members are participating in the Defence Forces tribunal.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,287 lines we hold for Sinéad Gibney, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 10 of 26.
“However, we if we look to the last section of the Minister of State's contribution, she was talking about observatories that are around enterprise, as well as a summit with the title of "enabling AI to power innovation-led growth in Europe". I want to see more balance in all of those areas. I want that summit to be more balanced. I also want it to talk about the dangers of AI and not wash over that and pretend that we can - because we cannot. This is my overall point. If we do not trust AI and if we do not build a governance and regulatory framework that builds that trust in AI within our citizens, AI will not reach its potential. It will not reach its potential within our economy, our public sector or anywhere else. I really want to see that kind of shift from Government representatives on that.”
“This can be seen in examples I do not think I have to go into any more because we have discussing them ad nauseam for the past number of weeks. This is emblematic of a business focus and I might go back to that division for a little bit. Although I see in this report and in the words the Government says and Government spokespeople say about there definitely being issues of concern, the fact that we need better regulation and how we can have innovation with regulation, the actions are not stacking up. This is evident even in what the Minister of State set out here today. We have talked about the establishment of the AI office as a regulatory response to the AI Act. It is a requirement of the AI Act and we know that.”
“I can tell the Minister of State that where the organisation is born will forever inform how it operates. I have real concerns that the origins of it should be outside of the Department of enterprise. I echo Deputy Byrne's comments and his idea about the elevation of the Minister of State's office out of the Department of enterprise and put into a more central Government Department, such as the Department of the Taoiseach or the Department of public expenditure. It should be in a more central and neutral Department where she would have the authority to oversee the regulation of AI in a way that of course looks at enterprise, growth and competitiveness but has that more balanced view that I think is required in the treatment of fundamental rights and protections which are at threat because of this technology.”
“I emphasise that I am in no way trying to diminish the competence of her officials in calling out my concerns about the location of the AI office that currently sits in the Department of enterprise. It is quite the opposite. It is the job of the Department of enterprise's officials to promote industry, draw in investment and develop our economy through growth and trade. I do not believe that is where an office which is charged with the broader responsibility of the implementation of AI into society should sit. I also appreciate that, once the organisation is established, it will be then popped out and become independent. I have led an independent State agency, namely, the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, which is governed by the UN principles and is arguably the most independent State agency in this country.”
“They have always been using AI and automated technology to prompt for us what we see on our screens. That is exactly what AI is doing. In the minds of many lawmakers and policymakers, there is perhaps still that distinction. What we are seeing, through the co-membership of these committees, is how integrated they are. I have certainly learned a lot through that. I will speak to a couple of the specific areas that have been touched on in the report and in the Minister of State's contribution and that of the committee Chair as well, starting with the AI office. This is something I have raised many times in the committee. I have concerns about the governance of the AI office and the location it currently has in the Department of enterprise. I raised this when the Minister of State was at the committee along with her officials.”
“One of the other things I have learned from being on this committee and on the culture, communications and sport committee is the cross-over between the two areas. I realise that AI as a topic is cropping up in many of the committees, such as the children and young people and education committees. Deputy Byrne and myself are both on those two committees and there have been some of the same witnesses in and some of the same topics debated about online safety, platforms and regulation. It is really important to mention this because there is still a perception that AI is distinct and is a technology that sits on its own. All of the issues we are dealing with in those online platforms are supercharged and turbocharged by the development of AI. Recommender algorithms are the problems they are because of AI.”
“I name-checked that division not to emphasise it here in the Chamber but simply to say it was quite a pleasant surprise for me that we came together so well in compiling this report. We had a very productive and robust session to get through all of the amendments that were proposed to bring this report to completion. The model we are working on in bringing through modular reports which respond to the pace of AI and moving technology is exactly the way we should be dealing with this. I wanted to call that out immediately. I also call out the contribution of Senator Lynn Ruane, who I think put forward by far the majority of the amendments, probably about 70% of them, and put an awful lot of work into that. Obviously, she is not in the Chamber today so I wanted to make sure her work was recognised.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her contribution today and thank all of my colleagues from the committee. I also thank Deputy O'Rourke for allowing me to go first. I have a constituency event so I really appreciate that. I have really enjoyed the work of the AI committee to date. I am a new TD and I am on three committees. I have to say, the AI committee has been the most divisive in a lot of ways. The polarised views of the Government and the Opposition on AI are so clear. There is a real emphasis on enterprise, innovation and competitiveness coming through from Government voices. From the Opposition, there are concerns around trust, risk, climate and what we see as many dangers presented by AI as it is rolled out in society.”
“I refer to those who are served eviction notices and are unable to find somewhere else that they can afford for their families. I also refer to lone parents in particular who are unable to do anything about their lower incomes and who are locked out of work due to the cost of childcare and locked out of the property market on foot of house prices that the Government is keen to continue to allow to rise. I will end with a final quote from the Focus Ireland survey, namely: It's the stigma that hurts the most. People look at you differently when you say you're in emergency accommodation. I feel like I've failed my children, even though I'm doing everything I can.”
“One of the parents interviewed for that report had the following to say: I never thought I would end up homeless. I had a job; I was doing okay. Then my landlord sold the house, and suddenly we were in a hotel room. My kids ask me every day when we will have a home again. I don't have an answer. Another stated: Childcare is impossible. I want to work, but how can I when I can't afford it and there's no support? It feels like the system is set up to keep us stuck. Muna bhfuilimid in ann tacú leis na tuismitheoirí seo agus a bpáistí, ní bheimid in ann comhionannas a fháil sa Stát seo. Tá an córas atá againn ag cur daoine ar na sráideanna agus á gcoinneáil ann. Caithfear dul i ngleic leis an bhfáinne fí seo. All across the country, people are trapped in a cycle of homelessness due to the failure of this Government's policies.”
“This is because they are on one income and have children who are solely reliant on them. I have heard their stress and their worry about how unstable their situations are and how an eviction notice could land on the mat in the morning. I have also heard from parents who have had to face the reality of being unable to find another property for them and their children, having to put their children in new schools or commuting two hours a day because that is the closest emergency accommodation they can get. They are trying to balances their jobs, their children and the pressing need to find and keep a roof over their heads, and they are doing it all alone. Focus Ireland found that 57% of homeless families in this country are one-parent families.”
“We know that while everyone feels the pressure of the housing crisis, there are particular groups who face the most brutal aspects of it. The crisis really has seeped into the life of every Irish person, but some people feel it worse than others. Those individuals are more likely to become homeless. They then struggle to get out of homelessness. I am talking about Travellers, migrants, those suffering with addiction, those with disabilities, the elderly and children. Today, however, I want to talk about one particular group that faces massive barriers when it comes to accessing housing or living with the risk of homelessness. I refer to one-parent families. Since becoming a TD, time and again I have heard the stories of single parents who are renting who can never aspire to own their homes.”
“The Minister cannot just present one hypothetical and expect to say this is going to work for it. It is the Minister's responsibility to build in the processes that will identify victims of trafficking so they are not treated in ways that retraumatise, penalise and prosecute them in ways that are just not humane within this system. That is what we are saying. We appreciate that there is a system to deal with international protection that allows for people to put forward their claim for asylum and for it to be treated. Within that system, there are also people who have been trafficked and who have experienced incredibly egregious crimes against them. We are trying to allow for those people to be treated differently within this cohort of people looking for international protection.”
“The Minister presents to us a hypothetical scenario where someone comes in and is sent to Citywest. This is the system he is presenting to us. We are trying our best to fix parts within it, which we believe will make it a humane and fairer system. Given the Minister presented one hypothetical scenario, here is another one. Let us say a government of the future is even harder on migration than this one is and has even more right-wing views on international protection, which penalise people for being in the system at all, and there is a screening centre that is a set of tents in a field in the middle of the country. We are going to send somebody there who, coming off the boat, is pleading with officials that they are a victim of international trafficking.”
“I agree with the Minister that many people do not know that they have been trafficked and that it is messy and hard but that is all the more reason those people need to be protected at every stage of the process. The vulnerability assessments have got to a place where they are a box-ticking exercise. The only way we can identify these things properly is by actually working with people and listening to them over a long period to make sure they are being given the services they need to support them at the most difficult time of their lives. I am afraid that the questions that the Minister is putting forward do not hold water. They simply belie this attitude of mistrust when we should be extending our offer of support to people when they need it most.”
“This betrays the level of mistrust this Government has regarding people in the international protection system if the starting point is always that people are here to cheat the system, to game it and to take advantage of our systems. That is what is coming through in this kind of thinking - how do we police it? Through this legislation and through being a signatory to the migration and asylum pact at EU level, we are placing multiple barriers in front of the right to claim asylum, which is an internationally upheld right. We do not agree that we should be doing those things but if we are going to go down that path, then we have every obligation to protect people who are trafficked.”
“The answer to the Minister's question about how we would do it is that if we are seeking to detain people, we have an obligation to determine whether they are victims of of human trafficking. The Minister mentioned the NRM but that extends well beyond An Garda Síochána. There are supposed to be civil society groups that are available through the NRM and are compelled and empowered to identify victims of human trafficking. One of the criticisms of this Bill going through pre-legislative scrutiny was that there was too much ministerial control. This is an amendment that gives more oversight to the Minister to allow for this as a ground and I cannot understand why he would push back on it. The Minister asked how we are supposed to tell whether somebody is just claiming to be a victim of trafficking.”
“Getting your documents ready to travel from a situation of persecution, conflict, war and torture is virtually impossible. The vulnerability that you put yourself in and the way that you make yourself so susceptible to exploitation by bad actors are off the charts, so to think we cannot see that nuance and intricacy within the process and legislate to effectively deal with it shocks me to the core. I support this amendment.”
“The case I was referencing directly relates to these amendments because in 2019, a Vietnamese woman was found in a cannabis growhouse and it was her case that unlocked the fact that even though she had been trafficked, she still had to fight a prosecution against her and it took that case, after years of so much work from so many civil society organisations and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, which I used to work for, to force this State to recognise the way that international protection and human trafficking are intertwined. To think that this Government is sleepwalking us back into a situation where people who are victims of human trafficking are going to be prosecuted, penalised and detained is head-in-the-sand stuff of the highest order. International protection is messy.”
“Human trafficking is a horrendous scourge on our society. It is a multibillion dollar crime that is carried out by organised crime gangs. The delicacy with which we have to treat victims of human trafficking cannot be overstated. I referenced earlier how long it had taken us, essentially driven by the courts, to untangle international protection from allegations of crime.”
“It is often forgotten that we could have taken a modular approach to this but chose not to. Instead of taking that approach, we are moving towards a system that will detain people. The subsection is an example of an unlawful detention proposal that we cannot stand over as a State. Deputy Gannon is correct in that we have a history of this. We know what happens. This is a trend across multiple countries and we cannot stand by it. Therefore, I support amendment No. 21 and ask the Government to do the same.”
“I support Deputy Gannon on this amendment. It is incredibly sad that we are moving towards this system of detention not just in Ireland but also across Europe through the EU migration and asylum pact, particularly because it took the State so long to untangle international protection from pursuing people through arrest. The courts had to achieve that through a series of cases to eventually try to meet our commitments under the EU reception directive. The worst part is that we have never done international protection well. We were just about starting to get to the point where we would do that but then we had to deal with crises that hampered any well-intentioned efforts by the Government to address the matter. To take, lock, stock and barrel, what we did not have to take from the EU migration and asylum pact is concerning.”
“Tinkering with the number of SNAs and arguing about what the appropriate level is to completely underestimate the mammoth task the State faces to do exactly that, namely create inclusive education where no child is left behind, where no child is segregated and where we all benefit from a system that embraces difference.”
“In a brilliant op-ed in The Journal , Derval McDonagh said: We owe it to this generation - and the next - to think bigger. To move from allocation debates to transformation. To ensure that every child can say with confidence: this school was built for me too. My biggest frustration comes from listening to the Taoiseach defend, day after day, whether there is an increase or whether the allocations will be properly managed. This is all distracting from what we should be doing, which is implementing a fundamental systemic change in how we teach children in this country to one that is inclusive. We start by recognising the constitutional right of every child to an appropriate education and the State then going about realising that right.”
“I will start local and then widen it out to the broader vision of inclusive education. Locally, we have been affected by this most recent debacle. Clíona O’Keeffe, who is the principal of Our Lady’s Boys National School in Ballinteer, made multiple media contributions in which she put it perfectly. She said that as a wealthy European country, surely we have enough money in our budget to pay for enough SNAs per school. Her school was told that its allocation would be cut from five to two, prompting waves of anxiety among the school community, parents, children, teachers and SNAs. I was canvassing in the area that week. Multiple people who answered their doors me were distraught about what was coming down the line. I will now widen it out and talk about the broader picture.”
“I am concerned that this structure of tax residence between two jurisdictions allows tax avoidance by multinational corporations in the same way that the so-called double Irish, which was discontinued in 2015, did. Is this being looked into? Are we applying a withholding tax on payments from Ireland to PDD Holdings, given that the company is incorporated in the Cayman Islands?”
“According to the annual report of PDD Holdings - the company that owns Temu, a discount e-commerce platform that I am sure the Minister is familiar with - its jurisdiction of incorporation is the Cayman Islands. On the same form, it is stated that the company's principal executive office is here in Ireland. A company incorporated in a foreign jurisdiction and managed from Ireland is tax resident here. The subsidiary which operates Temu, namely Whaleco Technology Limited, is also Irish registered. We need clarity about whether tax residency and incorporation arrangements like this impact the taxation of financial flows between large parent companies and subsidiaries.”
“Our neighbours across Europe have proven that it is possible, and we have the path to get there. It is to create a new DEIS for GP scheme, develop a new GP contract, adapt to modern working needs, and expand free healthcare for children aged at least 12 years. We do not lack the solutions. We lack a proactive Government with the ambition and urgency to enact systematic change. Last year, the Minister for Health launched the strategic review, but that review is just the latest delay in a series of delays from a Government led by two former health Ministers, who seemingly want Sláintecare to collect dust while ordinary people go without care. Access to healthcare is not a policy to be debated. It is a fundamental human right to be respected. This motion is about fulfilling that right and addressing people's health needs in the community.”
“I will quote two of the damning responses which demonstrate the real impact that this Government's inaction has had. One stated that trying to get an appointment is like winning the lottery, and that they are always busy. Another, which is particularly concerning, stated that in the time it took the person to secure a GP, they timed out on a prescription for medication they used to take daily to treat depression and anxiety, and they just had to learn to live without them. That is just a sample of the 600 responses we received about the inadequacy of GP services in this country. One of the key recommendations from Sláintecare was universal GP coverage by year five of implementation. This is a policy that the Government has already agreed to enact, yet eight years later, we are no closer to that goal.”
“We heard in the Minister of State's comments a great deal about progress, investment and reform. If that progress was real, people around this country would not be waiting for weeks for GP appointments. We would not be here pushing a motion to implement the Sláintecare programme, and we would not be the only country in Europe without universal primary healthcare. The unfortunate reality is that there is a two-tier health system here in Ireland and most people are paying on average between €50 and €90 for a GP appointment. For the 42% of people who have medical cards, healthcare is delayed, with appointments only available often after weeks or months, and that is if people can even get registered. Last week, we ran a survey to gather perspectives on people's experience in this area.”
“I welcome that the Government will not oppose this motion. I want to recap Sláintecare for a moment, which my party is really proud of, and the work that Róisín Shortall did and her legacy. Sláintecare was about cross-party co-operation and longitudinal vision for a transformation of our healthcare system from a two-tier to a single-tier system. This Government downgraded it from where it should have been situated in the Department of the Taoiseach to the Department of Health, where it could never fulfil its vision and ambition. Since then, the Government has cherry-picked what it wants, and not what the pubic wants or what was in the cross-party agreement. That is really important to recall in this moment when we are simply asking the Government to fulfil some of the elements of Sláintecare.”
“We need to have confidence that fishing can happen at Irish and EU level in a sustainable way, which protects fishing stocks and allows small fishers to make a living. However, for that to happen we need to give these goals the priority they need in making deals at EU level. We have seen how those deals, be they quota negotiations or Brexit, have left our fishing communities behind. We cannot allow this pattern to continue.”
“Ní féidir le maireachtáil le dhá thrian den ioncam a bhí acu, agus níl aon dóchas á thabhairt dóibh. There has long been an understanding at EU level when it comes to fisheries policy that Ireland contributes far more than we get back. To allay concerns we were given reassurances that such drastic falls in quotas as we are seeing would not happen. The Hague preferences were first introduced in the seventies to acknowledge that when the overall total allowable catch falls, that our coastal communities are not left with an even smaller share, which threatens their ability to survive and their viability as a community. We have since then seen total betrayal of those principles and a betrayal of Irish fishers at EU level.”
“We also face the massive knock-on impact of this crisis on those communities up and down the coast, which will see less money in their local economies as a direct result of this quota cut. They are no strangers to hardship in these communities that have walked on a cliff edge since the introduction of the Common Fisheries Policy. The Brexit deal, where their rights were further eroded in the interests of getting a deal done, further pushed them towards the edge. They are now simply in freefall. We need those communities to be protected and supported because right now they feel abandoned. Tá traidisiúin iascaireachta na tíre i gcontúirt. Caithfear dul i ngleic leis na fadhbanna atá roimh na pobail ar fud chósta na hÉireann. Ní féidir neamhaird a thabhairt ar a gcruachás níos mó.”
“I was encouraged to hear the Minister of State's commitment to using every lever available to him at European Union level to address this because we are at an absolute crisis point for Ireland's fishing industry. I also heard him couch that within the geopolitical pressures this Government faces as a member state of the European Union, but there are obviously concerns. The guarantees given to us during Brexit negotiations are not worth the paper they are written on. Fishing communities up and down the country are facing a cut of one third of our fishing quotas. When I say the fishing industry, it is important to remember that this is our heritage. These are our communities, coastal livelihoods and traditions that are under threat. We have heard that cut of one third in quotas potentially threatens thousands of jobs.”
“Proactive steps must be taken to ensure extreme weather is treated with a co-ordinated, holistic and State-wide communication approach from the Government and that burdens are not placed on under-resourced individual councils.”
“It is something successive governments have been warned about for years. In 2018, the European electronic communications code made it mandatory for all member states of the European Union to deploy a public warning system by June 2022 using telephone networks to alert everyone located in a specific area of an ongoing crisis or upcoming disaster. That deadline was nearly four years ago but, if I am correct, we still have not launched a tender for such a system. We remain one of the few EU member states without a comprehensive public warning communication system, yet our exposure to extreme weather is set to increase in the coming years. The Government must recognise that Storm Chandra should not be treated as an isolated phenomenon, but as a real part of our new weather pattern.”
“In 2024, the Cookstown Lane social housing development was opened in Kilternan. All 22 homes on the estate were filled with families who had been on the social housing waiting list. In the aftermath of Storm Chandra, the estate was filled with water. It has been ruined, flooded by the Loughlinstown river. Those same families have been uprooted, with most unable to return for several months. No matter how strong local council efforts to drain the area and help residents may be, they cannot meaningfully reduce the damage in situations like this. A concern repeated throughout the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council meeting was the inability to swiftly communicate with residents about the dangers of the storm. This issue has been pertinent to other extreme weather incidents across the country, including Storm Éowyn last year.”
“When the council met on 9 February to review responses to the storm, a number of productive measures were suggested, including the installation of additional cameras in areas of the river network, the expansion of the rain gauge network to include higher areas such as Three Rock and the improvement of drainage systems in areas like Loreto Park. These are all welcome suggestions but they reflect an individual council approach to a State-wide collective problem. The aftermath of Storm Chandra has exposed the hard truth that in an age of rapid climate change, our infrastructure and communication methods are failing. This is not something that individual councils and isolated improvements can fix; it is a responsibility which sits squarely on the shoulders of the Government.”
“I extend my solidarity to the people in my constituency of Dublin Rathdown who have been impacted by Storm Chandra and to everyone across the country who has been impacted by Strom Chandra and other recent weather events. Locally we saw incredible footage of damaged areas like Nutgrove Avenue and Enniskerry Road. I acknowledge the incredible work of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, not only the front-line workers who responded swiftly in the early hours of 25 January but also all the backroom workers who responded to over 500 calls.”
“All of the supports that the Department has for such businesses seem to lead back to a business model based on either making SMEs into big businesses or allowing them to struggle and fold. Delivery cost is such a nuts and bolts basic issue. Every business needs to be able to deliver its products to its customers. Recent changes have impacted the ability of SMEs to do that and compete effectively in our economy. This is something the Department should be keen to help to tackle and find solutions for.”
“I appreciate the Minister of State's willingness to explore this issue. I would argue that there are two ways to tackle it. One is by looking at the retail costs of An Post and the other is by looking at the supports that the his Department can specifically offer. Small business owners who have contacted my office feel forgotten. Some are new, some have been in operation for decades but these businesses are not aiming to become big operations. They provide goods and services that people want. They provide employment and a huge benefit to their communities. A small business which employs people but never expands to become a franchise, a mid-cap or unicorn is still a public good, an economic good and an important part of Irish society and enterprise.”
“Local enterprise offices can only do so much and we need to see real ambition from the Department when it comes to addressing the daily struggles of small businesses in a meaningful way. I accept that this should be raised with An Post directly and with the other Department with oversight of that organisation. However, this is not the first time that I have raised an issue only to be told to go to another Minister but I would argue that this is what Cabinet is for. Ministers can liaise with each other at Cabinet and the Department of enterprise can connect with the Department of culture, communications and sport to ensure that these small businesses are not being penalised.”
“This issue has been raised with me and I suggest that if the Government is looking for practical measures, this is one that it should explore. We have a landscape where many small businesses do not even have retail spaces any more and make the majority of their money from online orders which they then have to send via the post or by courier to their customers. The cost of doing this has gone through the roof and there is very little these businesses can do to mitigate it, except to put up their prices. I hear so much talk about Ireland's competitiveness and the need to support a competitive economy and yet this has a huge impact on the ability of small businesses to compete. This is at a time when we are encouraging businesses to explore further digitalisation.”
“As other Deputies have raised, SMEs are acutely feeling the cost of business right now. Many of them do not have the budget or level of business to be able to engage the courier services for the same rates as bigger businesses. Many rely on An Post but it has recently increased its rates and lowered the upper limit for parcels. What is the Department doing to support small businesses dealing with the cost of delivery services so they can get their products to the consumers who continue to support them?”
“One of the Taoiseach's colleagues, Deputy Malcolm Byrne, agreed with me this morning on radio that this is a problematic initiative and he really failed to give his support to what seems to be Government policy now. This is a reasoned contribution. Earlier the Taoiseach said we are too quick to rush to criticism but that is not the case. I appreciate it is well-intentioned and that there is a place for classification but this is not going to work. We need better solutions.”
“I have no doubt the Government's age verification system proposals are well-intentioned but we in the Social Democrats have major concerns over this. It is not working in the jurisdictions where it is currently running, it raises major privacy and security concerns, it interferes with the rights of children and young people to engage in online life and participation in society more broadly and it leaves behind the root cause of the issues that exist in the online space. Why is the Government pursuing this when we know its efforts would be better spent on dealing with toxic algorithms and legislating for platforms as publishers?”
“A right to request remote work has been a source of frustration for so many workers, who realise that when their request is unreasonably denied, their "right" is not particularly useful in changing their situation or helping them to deal with an unfair denial of remote and flexible working arrangements.”
“The Minister of State spoke at length on the current legislation but failed to see the point that the current legislative regime does not have any reasonable ground or objective criteria to apply to requests. It is wholly opaque and only feeds the frustration of arrangements being unreasonably denied in a way that is completely legal. Nobody should have to deal with an unjust decision like this being fully supported by our employment legal framework. We need a real system defined by reasonable expectations of employers and employees, with an entitlement from day one.”
“I read an op-ed by a Government TD this morning that referenced this Bill and framed legislation for a right to remote working as pitting employers against employees. This framing does a huge disservice to our role as legislators and the importance of clarity and transparency for both employers and employees. The right proposed in this Bill and in my own upcoming legislation is couched in what is reasonably practicable in a workplace and gives certainty to all involved on what is expected of them. The framing today that this Bill goes too far does not acknowledge that this Bill and any suggestions around remote work have always been caveated with the understanding that not every job can be done remotely or flexibly.”