Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 31 May 2022
30. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will provide an update on her Department’s initiative to support remote working; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27706/22]
View answerOur Rural Future, Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, recognises the opportunity which remote working presents and also the potential of remote working hubs as key economic assets for our rural towns and villages.
My Department has invested some €100m in the development of remote working facilities across a range of schemes. For example, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. The Town and Village Renewal Scheme prioritises the renovation of derelict and vacant buildings in our town centres, with a view to bringing these buildings back into use as multi-purpose community spaces and remote working hubs. The RRDF scheme also supports projects that involve the regeneration of historic town centre buildings as Enterprise and Co-Working spaces.
In May I launched the National Connected Hubs network together with the connectedhubs.ie platform. This platform will offer a suite of booking, hub management and e-commerce applications to members of the Network. The National Hub Network Working Group initially identified and mapped over 400 remote working hubs. To date, approximately 236 hubs have joined the Connected Hubs Network and been on boarded onto the platform, with this number rising on an ongoing basis.
Table 1 provides a full breakdown by county of Connected Hub figures.
|
County |
Live on the connectedhubs.ie platform |
Mapped to be invited to join the connectedhubs.ie platform |
|
Carlow |
4 |
9 |
|
Cavan |
5 |
9 |
|
Clare |
8 |
14 |
|
Cork |
23 |
17 |
|
Donegal |
12 |
18 |
|
Dublin |
41 |
32 |
|
Galway |
18 |
33 |
|
Kerry |
17 |
11 |
|
Kildare |
8 |
5 |
|
Kilkenny |
3 |
6 |
|
Laois |
4 |
6 |
|
Leitrim |
8 |
17 |
|
Limerick |
12 |
12 |
|
Longford |
3 |
7 |
|
Louth |
6 |
12 |
|
Mayo |
18 |
18 |
|
Meath |
0 |
20 |
|
Monaghan |
6 |
10 |
|
Offaly |
5 |
12 |
|
Roscommon |
4 |
15 |
|
Sligo |
4 |
9 |
|
Tipperary |
9 |
19 |
|
Waterford |
5 |
13 |
|
Westmeath |
1 |
11 |
|
Wexford |
6 |
10 |
|
Wicklow |
6 |
4 |
|
Total |
236 |
349 |
A significant number of initiatives will be developed through the Network including: supporting collective engagement between Connected Hubs and large scale employers; supporting collective engagement between Connected Hubs and Government agencies; and helping to identify the benefits Connected Hubs deliver for their local communities and the wider economy.
My department also recently completed the assessments of the 2022 Connected Hubs Call, to which I have allocated €5M in funding to further develop and leverage the capacity of the National Hub Network. This is in addition to the almost €9M allocated last year under the same scheme. The successful applicants to the 2022 Call will be announced very shortly.
To date my focus has been on establishing the network and on achieving the initial critical mass. Following strong progress on the establishment phase of the project, my focus has now shifted to the next stage of development. I am interested to hear how the hubs and their users see the future of the sector and have directed my officials to engage directly with the remote working community and relevant stakeholders as they assess the impact of both the National Hubs Network (connectedhubs.ie) and the Connected Hubs Call.
While we have acted quickly and decisively to ensure adequate provision of services to date, it is vital that as we develop a strategy for the development of the National Hub Network, we take stock of what has been achieved and what still needs to be done.
I am committed to continuing my Department's support for the development of remote working hubs in recognition of the vital role that they can play in our post-Covid recovery.
