George Lawlor: Calls for Right to Remote Work Over Commute Crisis
George Lawlor criticised the government's counter-motion as poor and announced the Labour Party will publish legislation next week to create a right to remote work. He argued that long commutes from Wexford, other counties and parts of Dublin — including tailbacks on the M11 and overcrowded trains — are unsustainable and a policy failure.
Call for legal right to remote work
George Lawlor said flexible working must be a right rather than a favour, and pledged that the Labour Party will bring forward legislation next week to establish a real right to remote work. He framed the measure as one of dignity and as a shift to assessing workplace productivity by output rather than physical presence.
Commuting problems and daily impact
He described journeys from his county of Wexford and parts of Dublin as a daily test of endurance, citing endless tailbacks on the M11 and overcrowded trains that take much longer than they should. Lawlor warned that hours are being lost before the workday begins, damaging workers' quality of life, family time and overall productivity.
Benefits of flexibility and transport investment
Lawlor argued that remote and staggered hours would reduce congestion, lower stress, improve job retention and widen access to employment, while allowing people to participate in their communities instead of spending time in tailbacks. He said a transport network can only function if it is supported by smart policies and proper investment.
Critique of the government's response
He described the government's counter-motion as "particularly poor and disappointing" and said it fails to address the right to remote work. Given that failure, Lawlor said his party has no choice but to publish its own legislation to make flexible working an obligation rather than a privilege.
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Minister, I think even you will agree that the government's counter-motion is particularly poor and disappointing. The journey from my own county of Wexford and indeed so many other counties and indeed parts of Dublin has become a daily test of endurance. Whether it is trapped in the endless tailbacks on the M11 or squeezed onto overcrowded trains which take much longer than they should, workers are paying the price for a system that cannot and does not meet the needs that they require simply to get to work. Hours upon hours are lost before the workday even begins, simply destroying these workers' quality of life. This commute isn't just inconvenient. Minister, it's unsustainable. People are doing everything right but the infrastructure around them is absolutely failing. And no workers should have to fight and struggle this hard just to get to their jobs. These hours are stolen from them, from their families, from productivity and from the very quality of life that we as a country claim to value. We often speak in this chamber about supporting working people, about building a modern and competitive country. Yet we continue to tolerate a system that saps and is sapping the energy of people and punishing them for simply trying to earn a living. Flexible working is not, and certainly should not be, a luxury. It must not be a favour granted by employers when convenient. It is a practical, evidence-based response to the realities of modern life here in this country. It would most certainly reduce congestion, it would lower stress and certainly improve retention of people in jobs and give people better access to employment and allow people time to immerse themselves into their communities rather than festering in tailback after tailback. When people have the ability to work remotely or to stagger their hours even, we see fewer cars obviously on the roads and a transport network, if invested in, that can actually function as it was originally intended. We can't keep asking workers to absorb the cost of the inefficiencies created by this state itself. We cannot keep pretending that long commutes are an unavoidable fact of Irish life. They are not. They are a policy failure, and we in this chamber have the power to correct it. This motion is about dignity. It is about recognising that time is a finite resource and that no worker should be forced to sacrifice it unnecessarily. It is also about creating a future for workers where flexibility is the norm and not seen as some sort of bequest from the boss. This motion seeks to create a workplace productivity that is measured by output rather than a person being present, and where our roads and public transport infrastructure is supported by smart policies rather than being held back and stifled by outdated rules of management. If we want an Ireland that is resilient, innovative and humane, we must make decisions that facilitate the workers who contribute greatly to our economy. Flexible work should not just be an option, it should be an obligation. It is time to deliver a system that respects the people who keep this country moving. And Minister, with the government totally failing to address the right to remote work in their counter-motion, we in the Labour Party are left with no choice but to bring forward legislation now on a real right to remote work, and we will publish that legislation next week. Thank you, Deputy.
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