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Commuting

• Mairead would initiate a Bill for Workers (Commuting) rights and amendments for Health and Safety at Work which is currently not recognised.

• ‘Commuters’ are not recognized in Irish law (unless going from home to a different office not the one they actually work at!).

Today Commuting to work is not generally classified as driving for work, except where the person’s journey starts from their home and they are travelling to a work location that is not their normal place of work. Mairead would initiate a new bill for Commuters rights, amending Health, Safety and Welfare at Work acts with policies for employers to safeguard employees who are commuting. Note this is not about mileage , it’s about Health and Safety for all employees.  Tax relief should be considered on the fuel and travel cost. Mileage would be an expense for Businesses, so I am not advocating for mileage, it needs Revenue tax relief so ‘some’ of the cost of fuel for Commuters is offset.  See fuel cost increasing again further here.  We need new Commuter rights and laws in Ireland that actually function for people travelling long distances to work, which are not recognised at present. This policy would be for Ireland only, not for overseas.

• For example, if commuting for a prescribed duration or KMs or more each way, ensuring there is adequate downtime and rest so employees are not unnecessarily commuting on consecutive days or else reasonable accommodations are made by employers to / from Dublin city and other places of work depending on journey times or overnights if needed in office on consecutive days.  Currently many commuters are travelling to/from offices when they could be doing the work at home (which was successful during Covid).  Many commuters are now expected to be in office even when they are working with remote teams in other countries.

• Commuting can be more difficult for employees that don’t live in Dublin. As there is recent backtrack from Hybrid and working from home by employers there is a need for additional legislation regarding commuting to protect health of commuters, safety on our roads, reducing traffic congestion, emissions and other considerations. For persons commuting from 5am returning 8 or 9pm to home several days a week, it is very difficult to do this on consecutive days and for long term basis this can drastically impact health, happiness and work life balance.

Right to ‘Request’ Remote Work

• Work from home legislation, Right to Request Remote Work is not adequate at present.  It can be unfairly denied by employers causing stress and worry for capable and productive workers.  Workplace disputes, WRC cases and costs can be avoided with my Commuting policy and amendments to Health and Safety laws.  Mr. Brian McDowell, head of Communication and Public Affairs at Financial Services Union, which represents a number of tech workers, has said disputes in relation to the right to working from home is the ”number one issue” in the Tech sector at present.

See Irish Independent article 19.01.2025 here.

Ireland’s Code of practice on remote working

The law on the right to request remote working is set out in Part 3 of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023.

For full practical guidance for employers and employees on how to make and handle requests for remote working, you can read The Workplace Relations Commission’s (WRC) Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Right to Request Flexible Working and Right to Request Remote Working.

Transport Infrastructure

• Faster transport is required and continuous investment in Rail infrastructure and services to reduce congestion. Since there is less hybrid there is increasing demand. Trains and Luas are constantly over capacity and people standing paying full fares. People who board trains in Kildare (early morning trains to Dublin) get no seats and have to stand throughout the carriages and paying full price. The Luas is jam packed constantly from Heuston to/from City Centre at rush hours and this is not considered in terms of fares charged to everyone.

The Electoral Commission video of how to vote in the Seanad Universities election click here

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