Our Rural Future clearly recognises the transformative role that remote working can have. One of the key actions which the policy commits to in this regard is establishing a comprehensive and integrated network of 400 remote working hubs over the lifetime of the policy to 2025.
An interdepartmental working group, chaired by the Secretary General of my Department was established in October 2020 to oversee the strategic development of this national hub network. The working group included representation from key Government Departments, State Agencies and relevant public bodies, namely the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Enterprise Ireland, IDA, Údaras na Gaeltachta and the Western Development Commission.
The first deliverable from the interdepartmental group was to publish a composite national map of remote working hubs across the country by the end of quarter one 2021. In May 2021 I launched the National Connected Hubs network together with the connectedhubs.ie platform. The National Hub Network Working Group initially identified and mapped over 400 remote working hubs. To date, approximately 180 hubs have joined the Connected Hubs platform, with this number rising on an ongoing basis.
The Connected Hubs platform offers a suite of booking and hub management applications to its members. It will also facilitate the sharing of innovation, experience and best practices across the community. These supports will serve to maximise benefit to member hubs, hub clients, employers, local communities and the wider economy.
Last year, through the Connected Hubs funding stream, I awarded close to €9 million in funding to over 100 successful applicants. This allowed for the expansion of remote working infrastructure in digital hubs, including broadband connection points throughout the country. My Department also continues to invest significantly in the development of remote working facilities across the country through schemes such as the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
A Connected Hubs marketing campaign is currently in the final stages of development and will be launched in the coming weeks. To date, our focus has been to develop a critical mass of hubs on the connecthubs.ie platform, but this will now shift to raising awareness of the network to relevant stakeholders, including SMEs, business owners and hub users.
The right to request remote work is part of the Government's vision to make remote working a permanent feature of Ireland’s workforce in a way that can benefit all – economically, socially and environmentally.
This is consistent with the recognition attached to the importance of remote working within Our Rural Future, and
this new legislation will bring us one step closer to making remote working a lasting feature for Ireland’s workforce. This is one of many measures the Government has introduced to incentivise remote working, including the right to disconnect and investment in remote working hubs.
The Government recognises that not all occupations, industries, or particular roles within an enterprise will be appropriate or suitable for remote working. The Right to Request Remote Working Bill will provide employees with a right to request remote work and will provide a legal framework around which requesting, approving or refusing such a request can be based. It will also provide legal clarity to employers on their obligations for dealing with such requests. The intention is to introduce a mechanism for employees to request remote working that is fair but does not place an undue burden on employers.
I am confident that the range of supports and initiatives being implemented across Government Departments will help to ensure that the benefits of remote working are available for workers and employers throughout Ireland.
