Sinn Féin spokesperson on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Louise O’Reilly TD, has accused the government of “pulling a fast one” and bypassing key legislative stages in the Oireachtas by using report stage of the Work Life Balance Miscellaneous Provisions Bill to legislate for remote-working by way of amendment.

 Teachta O’Reilly said:

 “Legislating to deliver a legal basis for remote working has been a priority for workers and politicians for some time.

“Despite having nearly two and a half years to deliver this important legislation through a standalone Bill, the government and Tánaiste have failed.

“As a result, we now have a situation where the government are trying to circumvent their failure by allowing the Tánaiste to annex his remote working legislation onto the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth’s Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill.

“The end result is that complex legislation, which should be delivered by way of a standalone Bill, is being introduced by way of amendment and bypassing key legislative stages in the Oireachtas.

“By introducing the legislation as an amendment at the final stage of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill, the Tánaiste is bypassing three key stages that a standalone Bill would have gone through in the Dáil – second stage, committee stage, and report stage.

“The government and the Tánaiste are pulling a fast one in relation to remote working and they are denying elected representatives an opportunity to query or raise concerns regarding these complex legislative changes around remote working.

“There are many questions regarding the Tánaiste’s recently published amendments which need to be answered, and it is shocking that the ability for TDs to ask these questions has been curtailed.

“I have today written to the Chair of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Enterprise, Trade, and Employment Committee and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to ask that a hearing be scheduled with Department officials so a briefing and Q&A session can be provided.”