Dublin West TDs Roderic O’Gorman, Dublin Rathdown TD Sinead Gibney, and Dublin Central TD Marie Sherlock were all in attendance at the All-Party Group on Remote Work meeting on Tuesday, September 23.
The group, established in 2024, is pushing for a cohesive national approach to take advantage of the growing number of remote work opportunities available across Europe.
Social enterprise Grow Remote, which provides support to the group, reports that over 100,000 remote jobs are advertised each month on the continent.
Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, Emer Currie, who chairs the group, emphasised the need for a strategic approach.
“Today’s meeting is an important milestone in ensuring remote work continues to benefit every corner of Ireland and reaches communities that need it most,” she said.
“To maximise those opportunities, it should be embraced as a key pillar of employment, like foreign direct investment and indigenous enterprise. It’s vital that Ireland continues to position itself as a leader in remote work and secures as many of the 100,000 remote jobs that are available every month across Europe as possible.”
Grow Remote’s pre-budget submission for 2026 is calling for a “National Strategy for Remote Jobs,” which would include specific targets for job creation.
The organisation estimates that attracting just 1,000 remote jobs could boost Ireland’s GDP by €20 million and generate an additional €10.8 million in tax revenue annually.
“So far, infrastructure, training, and employer engagement have laid the groundwork,” said Tracy Keogh, Chair of Grow Remote. “But without a clear national goal, progress is fragmented.
“A target would unify those efforts, strengthen Ireland’s international position, and deliver lasting impact: more resilient communities, more diverse regional economies, and more people in good jobs across the country.”
The meeting also heard from employers who have successfully implemented remote-first models. Siobhán Curtin, Site Lead at eBay Ireland, explained how the company’s move to remote work for its customer experience teams in 2017 has helped attract top talent from all over Ireland.
“When eBay Ireland introduced remote work for our customer experience teams in 2017, we reimagined what flexibility could mean for employees and communities which shapes how we work, helping us attract top talent from across Ireland,” she said.
Hilary O’Shea, co-founder of Irish-grown business Otonomee, challenged common perceptions of remote work.
“Remote for us is not rural,” she said. “It’s not laid back and neither is it disconnected. We pride ourselves on the professionalisation of remote work.
“In an era where foreign direct investment in Ireland may decline, we need to better support Irish grown business, we need to better support entrepreneurship.”
The push for a national remote work strategy comes as recent data shows a clear trend towards flexible working arrangements.
According to the CSO Labour Force Survey, remote and hybrid models have seen a 1% increase since December 2024.
Research from Ibec also indicates that 73% of Irish employers are prioritising these models, while a CIPD survey found that 90% of organisations believe hybrid work aids in recruitment and retention.