Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 9 Dec 2003

Vol. 576 No. 5

Written Answers. - Flexible Work Practices.

Trevor Sargent

Question:

80 Mr. Sargent asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the practical or legislative measures that her Department is considering following the findings of the research report, Off the Treadmill, carried out by the national framework committee on work-life balance. [29953/03]

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. Fahey):

The national framework committee for work-life balance policies was established under the PPF and continued under the national agreement Sustaining Progress with a remit to support and facilitate the development of family friendly policies at the level of the enterprise through the development of a package of practical measures that can be applied. One of the tasks of the committee is to examine how best to improve access to family-friendly working arrangements in order to realise the potential benefits that these arrangements would offer from both an equality and competitiveness perspective. The committee comprises representatives from IBEC, ICTU, the Equality Authority and Departments, and is chaired by my Department.

The research report Off the Treadmill was commissioned by the national framework committee to gather information on the types of family-friendly policies in organisations, the level of availability and take-up of family-friendly working arrangements in workplaces, attitudes to family-friendly arrangements among employers, employees and work colleagues, and to identify existing research available in this area. The report confirms that demands for work-life opportunities are increasing among a broad range of people who are at work or who may be seeking work, not just people who are seeking to balance work and family responsibilities.

The committee held a seminar in November for work-life balance policy makers and practitioners from both the private sector and the public sector to disseminate the findings of the Off the Treadmill research and to consider how this agenda can be progressed into the future. The committee is currently considering a number of areas where they can undertake a role in progressing this agenda at the enterprise level in the future, including: the provision of tools and guides to assist organisations in introducing and-or managing innovative work-life options at the level of the enterprise; the examination of the business case, at the level of the enterprise, for the introduction of work-life balance options; the provision of financial assistance to organisations to assist them to develop innovative approaches to work-life balance; the dissemination of information to organisations on work-life balance options, including the dissemination of information on successful work-life balance projects undertaken to date; and in the context of the increasing demand for work/life balance options both employers and employees will require to be innovative in their thinking and actions in this area.