Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil fail to grasp commuter crisis – Labour to table emergency remote work legislation
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil fail to grasp commuter crisis - Labour to table emergency remote work legislation - The Labour Party
Labour TD for Kildare South Mark Wall has expressed his concern at the failure of this Government to grasp the crisis facing commuters on our roads following a Labour Party Dáil motion.
Government amendments tabled to the Labour Party motion failed to address a right to remote work.
The Labour Party will now bring forward emergency legislation on a real right to work next week.
Deputy Wall said:
“Congestion and delays on our roads are a really serious matter for the thousands of people commuting to Dublin City Centre for work. Congestion has exploded as more and more employers issued blanket calls for workers to return to the office. The Labour Party are clear, workers need a real right to flexible work to improve quality of life, and to quell traffic chaos.
“Yet in response to the Labour Party motion today, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil failed to even reference remote work. It’s beyond belief and shows just how out of touch this Government is with the realities facing workers in our country. The Labour Party is left with no choice but to bring forward emergency legislation to provide workers with an immediate right to flexible work, which we will publish next week.
“Anyone travelling into Dublin City Centre for work this morning was likely stuck in traffic, I myself was delayed for the start of the Dáil debate despite leaving my home in Kildare at 6:30am.
“The Labour Party opened a consultation in January on flexible work and traffic congestion and the responses are stark. Approximately 850 people responded sharing their stories of commuting, losing hours of precious family time to the road or waiting on buses stuck on the quays. It’s no way to live for people and it simply does not have to be the way.
“We saw how remote work changed the game during Covid – businesses remained open through innovation and people adapted to the new reality of working. While many workplaces progressed to hybrid working patters, the only legislation introduced by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil on remote work effectively handed employers a right to refuse requests for remote work. This must be addressed.
“Our roads are chock a block, public transport services like trains are infrequent, buses are stuck on the quays, something has to give. Many people moved away from the city centre during the pandemic due thanks to the benefits of remote work. Now, more and more employers are imposing blanket return to the office diktats, and Government is failing to stand up for them. It’s utterly shameful. Politics is about choices and Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have made the wrong one here.”
ENDS
The Labour Party full motion is available here.
Government amendment:
notes that:
— the Government is committed to the delivery of major public transport projects, as evidenced by last year’s review of the National Development Plan (NDP) allocation of €24.3 billion to transport projects from 2026 to 2030;
— the NDP Sectoral Plan for Transport 2026-2030 involves a funding ratio of at least 2:1 in favour of new public transport over new roads projects, and for the next five years there will be approximately €3.3 billion allocated towards new roads investment and, at a minimum, approximately €7 billion towards new public transport investment;
— while the Government has allocated an unprecedented level of investment in transport, representing an almost 87 per cent increase as compared to the previous five-year period, investment decisions will always require a degree of sequencing and prioritisation of individual projects;
— for public transport infrastructure, there is circa €12.1 billion in funding in the new NDP from 2026 to 2030, and this represents more than double the amount provided in the previous five years;
— the funding in the new NDP will provide for the progression of a number of major public transport projects over this period, including the commencement of construction of MetroLink, Luas Finglas, the Dublin Area Rapid Transport (DART)+ programme, and the Western Rail Corridor from Athenry to Claremorris, as well as the continued implementation of the Cork Area Commuter Rail programme and the BusConnects programmes across Dublin, Cork, Galway, Limerick and Waterford cities;
— in particular, the funding will allow Luas Finglas to commence construction within the period of this NDP, which is ahead of the post-2030 schedule for the project’s construction commencement in the National Transport Authority Greater Dublin Area Transport Strategy;
— furthermore, funding secured under this NDP review will see construction start before 2030 on the DART+ programme, beginning with DART+ West, which is a crucial enabler of the rest of the programme and particularly DART+ South West;
— on public transport services, Public Service Obligation (PSO) journeys have continued to grow steadily, reaching a record 343 million passenger journeys by the end of 2024, and this represents an increase of 32 million journeys compared with 2023, and exceeds pre‑pandemic levels, and a significant milestone was reached in October 2024, when PSO services recorded one million journeys in a single day, and although the full year figures are not yet available for 2025, early indicators show continued growth, with Dublin Bus recording 164 million journeys in 2025, an increase of 5 million on 2024 and the highest annual total on record;
— Connecting Ireland is another strong example of progress, delivering exponential growth in rural transport since its launch in 2022, with 185 new and enhanced services having been introduced, resulting in almost 8 million passenger journeys in 2024, and where Connecting Ireland services have been implemented, patronage rose by 38 per cent from 2023 to 2024, and is up by 165 per cent compared to early 2019; and
— in addition, €360 million has been allocated to Active Travel and Greenway Programmes in 2026, continuing the high level of funding which has seen €1 billion invested in walking and cycling infrastructure projects since the start of the decade, and over 1,000 kilometres of active travel infrastructure has been constructed since 2021, with networks of walking and cycling infrastructure beginning to emerge in our towns and cities, allowing commuters to choose active transport modes to travel to work and school; and
affirms Government efforts to:
— deliver public transport projects;
— support households and businesses through addressing congestion; and
— work to address Ireland’s climate targets.”.
Sponsor – Darragh O’Brien, Minister for Transport