Publishing a statutory review on 5 March, Enterprise Minister Peter Burke and Small-Business Minister Alan Dillon declared Ireland’s Right-to-Request-Remote-Work system a success. Introduced in 2023, the regime gives all employees with six months’ service the legal right to ask for remote or hybrid arrangements, with defined response deadlines for employers. According to the first three-year review, 94 % of requests lodged in 2025 were approved in full or in part, and employers reported “minimal administrative burden”. While the headline is positive, uptake remains uneven. Survey data show that knowledge of the right is lowest in rural counties and among smaller firms. To close that gap, the ministers have ordered a national information campaign and instructed the Workplace Relations Commission to produce an enhanced, user-friendly Code of Practice. Templates for applications and decision letters will be standardised, and timelines clarified, making it easier for mobile talent – especially new hires moving to Ireland – to negotiate hybrid packages before relocation.
![Remote-Work Law Review Finds 94 % Approval Rate – New Code of Practice on the Way]()
At this stage, organisations juggling visa formalities for incoming staff may find specialist support invaluable. VisaHQ’s Ireland desk (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) can guide HR teams and individual assignees through the entry-permit options that best complement remote or hybrid set-ups, streamlining paperwork so that the focus stays on crafting the right work arrangement rather than chasing consular stamps.
For international employers the findings matter. Remote and hybrid arrangements are now routinely factored into assignment costings and tax-residence calculations. The review confirms that Ireland’s framework is working and unlikely to be overhauled – offering the policy certainty that global mobility managers crave. However, the report flags low awareness of tax reliefs for home-working and calls for Revenue to refresh guidance before year-end; payroll teams should watch for updated e-briefs. The ministers also linked remote work to regional development. With 429 hubs now connected to the National Hub Network, the Government wants more incoming assignees to base themselves outside Dublin. IDA Ireland told the review panel that companies choosing Cork or Galway cite the remote-work regime as a differentiator when persuading talent to relocate. Next steps: the new Code of Practice will be drafted by June; a national media blitz will run over the summer; and the next statutory review is pencilled in for 2029. In the meantime, employers should audit existing policies against the forthcoming code and ensure decision rationales are documented – a key defence in any future Workplace Relations Commission dispute.
At this stage, organisations juggling visa formalities for incoming staff may find specialist support invaluable. VisaHQ’s Ireland desk (https://www.visahq.com/ireland/) can guide HR teams and individual assignees through the entry-permit options that best complement remote or hybrid set-ups, streamlining paperwork so that the focus stays on crafting the right work arrangement rather than chasing consular stamps.
For international employers the findings matter. Remote and hybrid arrangements are now routinely factored into assignment costings and tax-residence calculations. The review confirms that Ireland’s framework is working and unlikely to be overhauled – offering the policy certainty that global mobility managers crave. However, the report flags low awareness of tax reliefs for home-working and calls for Revenue to refresh guidance before year-end; payroll teams should watch for updated e-briefs. The ministers also linked remote work to regional development. With 429 hubs now connected to the National Hub Network, the Government wants more incoming assignees to base themselves outside Dublin. IDA Ireland told the review panel that companies choosing Cork or Galway cite the remote-work regime as a differentiator when persuading talent to relocate. Next steps: the new Code of Practice will be drafted by June; a national media blitz will run over the summer; and the next statutory review is pencilled in for 2029. In the meantime, employers should audit existing policies against the forthcoming code and ensure decision rationales are documented – a key defence in any future Workplace Relations Commission dispute.
