I call Deputy Ó Murchú.

On a point of order-----

Points of order may not be raised on questions on promised legislation.

Deputies are absolutely abusing the process-----

Hear, hear.

Deputy, please.

It is designed to ensure that the Tánaiste is not answerable to the House on questions on promised legislation.

Deputy, please stop. I have an announcement of some significance to make at the end of this debate. I call Deputy Ó Murchú.

I have to agree with Deputy Duncan Smith. We are in the realm of farce.

On the issue of remote working, remote working hubs and broadband provision, how has the Tánaiste got on in terms of his conversations with National Broadband Ireland, NBI, regarding the acceleration of the roll-out? Beyond that, has he spoken to private operators about possible interim solutions for areas that may have to wait four, five, six or seven years for proper broadband provision?

I call Deputy McAuliffe, to be followed by Deputy McNamara.

I am on the list to ask questions on promised legislation, but I do not wish to come in on this issue.

Does Deputy McNamara have a question on this matter?

Yes. On the matter of the rural plan, I hope the Tánaiste will answer the question asked by Deputy Cannon, that is, whether there is any prospect of an acceleration of the rural broadband plan. If there is not, it is just fluff. What we can do is ensure that those who currently have broadband and Internet services get a proper service, but ComReg does not have sufficient powers in that regard. I have twice asked the Tánaiste about this issue. The most recent time I asked him about it, he told me legislation would be passed by Cabinet in December and brought before the House in February to give additional powers to ComReg to make it provide the service it is contracted to provide. Where is that legislation?

On the issue of the Debenhams workers, as the Tánaiste is well aware, the first anniversary of their being made redundant is coming up. The workers are being treated abysmally by KPMG and their former employer. The Tánaiste is aware of what happened last night; the issue was raised with him already. Why is KPMG allowed to remove stock as an essential activity under level 5 restrictions? Will the Tánaiste ensure that is not done in other stores? I have been dealing with the workers in Limerick. They are a fantastic group of people who have been treated abysmally. I urge the Tánaiste to intervene and ensure there are no further breaches of the restrictions.

I thank the Deputies. I make the point that Government Deputies make up more than half of the House and it is not unreasonable for them to be allowed to raise questions on promised legislation, just like everybody else.

They do not have the right to hog the debate.

To answer the questions that have been asked, last night I signed the new code of practice giving people the right to disconnect. Essentially, it has three elements: the right not to be expected or required to reply to emails and phone calls out of hours; the right not to be victimised for refusing to do so; and the duty to respect the right of others to disconnect. It is a code of practice that has been signed by me and, therefore, although it is not an offence to breach it in itself, it can be admitted as evidence by the Workplace Relations Commission in disputes over working times. The most important thing that should happen now at workplace level is for employers and employees to sit down and agree a policy for their workplace because every workplace is different. Some workplaces operate from 9 to 5, Monday to Friday, while others operate 24-7 and work on an international basis. We encourage people to sit down and agree a policy for their workplace now.

Today I launched the public consultation on the right to request remote working. This is very important for rural Ireland and small towns and villages because we are asking people's views on how we should enshrine that right in law. At the moment, one can request the ability to work from home or a village, town or remote hub, but there is no legal framework under which one's employer must reply and give reasons for accepting or rejecting the request and there is no way in which one can challenge the decision. We wish to change that. The public consultation on that opened today.

As regards the national broadband plan, this is a €3 billion investment in rural Ireland. It is the biggest single investment in rural Ireland ever. The contract was signed by the previous Government, which I had the honour to lead, and is being delivered by this Government, of which I have the honour of being a member. It is now well under way. I have met NBI. We are exploring the possibility of accelerating the plan. It can only be done so fast. It will be approximately 100,000 homes, farms and businesses every year. If it can be done faster, it will, but it can only be done so fast. My meeting with NBI went quite well and we explored the kind of things that might be done to speed up the process.

As regards the question asked by Deputy McNamara on the competition Bill-----

Is that the ComReg Bill?

It is a competition Bill but it also gives additional powers to ComReg. It is being drafted at the moment and is at an advanced stage. We anticipate having it enacted before the summer recess.

I compliment the Minister for Community and Rural Development, Deputy Humphreys, on bringing forward the rural Ireland plan, building on the work done by her predecessor, Deputy Ring. The plan will see considerable investment in enterprise hubs and remote working hubs in towns and villages around the country, which can make a big difference to rural Ireland because it means that people who do not want to commute in and out of cities will now find it much easier to work from rural Ireland, either part time or full time.