New policies around remote working can't just be for "people with big houses", Sinn Fein says.
Louise O'Reilly says it's important that legislation ensures "reasonable requests" from workers around remote working are not refused by employers.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has repeatedly pledged to bring in legislation granting workers the right to request remote working.
Ministers have today revealed details of the draft laws to give employees that legal right.
The legislation will allow workers to appeal to the Workplace Relations Commission if a company will not let them work remotely.
However, Mr Varadkar has rejected calls for the legislation to guarantee workers a right to work from home, rather than just the right to request it.
Opposition parties want ministers to go further and provide a legal right to remote working.
Speaking on The Pat Kenny Show ahead of the legislation's publication, Deputy O'Reilly said it's important the new laws are framed in a "positive way".
She said: “Many, many workers who previously may not have thought it was possible for them to remote work… have been doing it and doing it successfully for the last two years.
“What we need to see is the hybrid model emerging from this - flexibility at the level of the workplace, and flexibility on the rosters - that works for both employers and workers.
“The concern is with this Government that they won’t frame it in a way that is positive.”
The Sinn Féin TD says she doesn't trust the Government when it comes to issues around workers' rights, and she called on the Tánaiste to actually publish the proposed legislation rather than just talking about it.
She suggested one of the key things will be ensuring plans for remote working hubs around the country are now ramped up.
She said: “We need to take account of the fact that this can’t be a policy for people with big houses - this has to be a policy for people whose home situation may not be conducive to home working.
“Therefore we need to see those remote hubs. Talking to local business owners… they’re telling me they’d love to see the development of those hubs: people spending less time commuting, but also driving business at a local level in our towns and villages.”
Deputy O'Reilly said the initial work from home arrangements were cobbled together amid an emergency, with no choice for staff or employers.
She believes it's important to now capitalise on the positive changes and put them on a more formal footing through legislation.
