Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 February 2021
986. Deputy Patricia Ryan asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the interdepartmental group set up within her Department to examine the remote working hubs and co-working spaces; when the group is due to report; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5454/21]
View answerRemote, or connected working has the potential to transform rural Ireland, allowing people to continue to live in their communities while building careers in good quality jobs. Remote working also provides an opportunity for others to move to, or return to, rural areas to work and raise their families, and we are increasingly seeing people making this choice since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Government recognises that remote working will form part of how many organisations operate into the future. That is why the Government recently published a National Remote Work Strategy, to provide a framework in which remote working can be supported in a cohesive way.
One of the pillars of the Remote Work Strategy is to develop and leverage remote work infrastructure across the country. As part of this objective, a Working Group chaired by the Secretary General of my Department was established last October to oversee the development of a National Hub Network. The first phase of this Group’s work is to identify, map, survey and classify the various remote working facilities available throughout the country.
This work, which is currently under way, will lead to the establishment of an integrated network of remote working facilities with shared back-office services for the hubs and a common booking engine for users. This will become a significant knowledge asset to inform future investment in remote working facilities.
I expect to be in a position to outline the results of Group's work over the course of the year as various elements of the Working Group's programme are completed.
