Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil retreat on flexible work
Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil retreat on flexible work - The Labour Party
Labour enterprise spokesperson Deputy George Lawlor has called on the Government to reverse its opposition to Labour’s Work Life Balance Bill 2026 following new figures from the Central Statistics Office showing a sharp drop in remote working across Ireland. The data published today shows that the number of people working from home fell by 15,900 last year to 956,700, while the number of people who never work from home rose by 74,200 to 1,865,600, surpassing pre-Covid levels for the first time. Deputy Lawlor said the figures demonstrate exactly why Government must support Labour’s legislation to give workers a real, enforceable right to remote work where roles allow.
Deputy Lawlor said:
“Ireland’s world of work has changed, but our laws have not. These figures from the Central Statistics Office show that workers are being dragged back into offices at pace while Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil continue to block legislation that would give people a genuine right to work remotely where their job allows. At a time when housing costs continue to spiral, commutes grow longer and climate pressures shape everyday decisions, the Government is choosing employer control and delay over workers’ rights.
“We now see the number of people who never work from home exceeding pre-pandemic levels for the first time. That is not happening by accident. It reflects a growing push from employers to haul people back into offices without justification and it exposes just how weak current protections really are. Workers who reorganised their lives in good faith around flexible arrangements now face longer journeys, higher childcare costs and mounting stress because this Government refuses to act.
“Government claims that opposing Labour’s Bill protects flexibility. That argument is completely disingenuous. What it actually protects is a hands off approach that leaves all the power with employers and none with workers. Employers can refuse remote work requests by default, no matter how unreasonable or outdated the justification. The Workplace Relations Commission can only check whether a process was followed, not whether a refusal makes any sense in practice.
“Telling workers to wait for a statutory review at some point in the future shows how out of touch this Government is with what is happening on the ground right now. People are losing flexibility today. They are facing longer commutes and higher costs now. For many carers, people with disabilities and those living outside major cities, remote work is not a perk. It is the difference between being able to stay in work and being pushed out altogether.
“There is no credible evidence that forcing people back into offices improves performance, but there is clear evidence that it worsens congestion, damages wellbeing and undermines our climate commitments. Labour’s Work Life Balance Bill would end refusals based on habit or managerial whim and give workers a clear and enforceable right to remote work where their role allows. Government must stop siding with employer vetoes over workers’ lives, abandon its opposition to Labour’s legislation and act now to give workers real rights, real certainty and real balance in their working lives.”