I welcome the Tánaiste's decision to merge the flexible working and the remote working Bills. I also welcome, in particular, the removal of criminal offences for employers to have a policy, even if they never required having one, the removal of excessive grounds for employers to refuse remote working, the introduction of a code of practice and a worker's right to complain. It shows the value of the pre-legislative scrutiny system. I am seeking assurance that there be no unnecessary delay in implementing this legislation. It is an important opportunity we must seize.

We have seen cases where companies have announced a blanket end to remote working. Thankfully, this was not in Ireland, but it shows the urgent need for legislation.

In making the decision to merge the two Bills, we took on board the report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Enterprise, Trade and Employment, of which the Deputy is a member, and listened to the views of employer groups and unions through the Labour Employer Economic Forum, LEEF. The plan is to insert the remote working provision into the Minister, Deputy O'Gorman's, Bill on Report Stage, which is supposed to be taken in the coming weeks. We hope it will get through the Dáil before the recess and perhaps through the Seanad. I expect to see that legislation enacted, if not by the Christmas recess, certainly by the Easter recess.