303. Deputy Seán Kyne asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation whether the mandate for staff members in the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) to work two days per week in office rather than the present obligation of working for one day has come from his Department, and the rationale for this increase considering that the NSSO is not a public facing organisation and staff do their work from home diligently and effectively. [67745/26]

I am informed that the National Shared Services Office (NSSO) remains committed to blended working and recognises the benefits that flexible working arrangements provide to employees and the organisation. The decision to increase the minimum in-office attendance requirement from one day to two days per week was made following a comprehensive review of blended working arrangements within the NSSO and was not the result of a specific direction from my Department.

The review involved consultation with all staff and was undertaken using the Civil Service Blended Working Evaluation Model which my Department developed. The model provides a structured framework for organisation to evaluate the effectiveness of blended working arrangements. The model supports evidence-based decision-making and continuous improvement by assessing the impact of blended working on organisational performance, employee experience, service delivery and workforce sustainability.

The review identified opportunities to further strengthen organisational effectiveness through increased in-person engagement. In particular, the revised attendance requirement is intended to facilitate enhanced induction and onboarding, increased training and learning and development opportunities, stronger collaboration and knowledge-sharing, improved communication within and across teams, greater social connection among colleagues, and more visible leadership and support from managers.