Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 November 2023
7. Deputy Jennifer Murnane O'Connor asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will consider reopening the connected hubs voucher scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49553/23]
View answerWill the Minister consider reopening the connected hubs voucher scheme and make a statement on the matter?
I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The Our Rural Future scheme recognises the opportunity for rural rejuvenation that remote working presents and commits to establishing an integrated national network of 400 remote working hubs by 2025. I am pleased that we are well on our way to meeting this commitment. There are now 330 hubs onboarded to the connectedhubs.ie platform and this number is growing all the time.
The initial focus of the connected hubs initiative was on establishing the network and achieving this initial critical mass, underpinned by significant levels of investment by my Department. The connected hubs voucher scheme was launched in June 2022. It was designed to encourage those who had never used a hub to try it out for free. A total of 7,867 connected hubs vouchers have been redeemed across the connected hubs network as a direct result of the initiative. The feedback received from across the hubs sector on this initiative was extremely positive, and I am happy that it has made a real impact in making people more aware of the huge benefits of using our network of remote working hubs.
Following strong progress on both the establishment and the awareness-raising phase of the project, my focus has since shifted to the next stage of development. Through the work of the interdepartmental steering group for the national hub network, my officials are working on a new strategy which will set out a future direction for the network in the coming years. This strategy will, inter alia, help inform future decisions on possible approaches to support funding for hubs and enable a coherent approach to planning and investment in the hub sector. I am a firm believer that remote working has been a game-changer for rural Ireland, and that the network of remote working hubs my Department is putting in place will help to ensure we can continue to take advantage of all the benefits that it brings.
I firmly believe the voucher scheme for remote workers, and what I would have classed as the hot deskers across Ireland, was hugely important. I know this from talking to people. That is why I wanted to ask whether there was any chance it could be brought back. It presents an opportunity for rural Ireland in particular, and for Carlow where I always promote it. A hub like this gives a huge presence within an area. The voucher played a huge part in this. As the Minister knows, when people are going in to a hub to work, they go in next door to buy a breakfast roll or a cup of coffee and they go across to maybe get some petrol or diesel. Where there is a hub, there is always more footfall and that is important. I am sure there is nobody more aware of the cost of living than the Minister and this incentive would be really important to keep if possible. I acknowledge she has moved on to a new strategy, which I welcome, but many people really welcomed the scheme and said it was a really good one.
It was my idea to do this voucher scheme because we wanted to get bums on seats. We wanted to introduce people to the hubs and make them aware of them. It worked well because now we have nearly 75% occupancy in our remote working hubs. The voucher scheme was probably of its time and I want to look forward now because I want to consider sustainability into the future. I know costs are rising and that some of the hubs may need some support to run them and to provide the facility. We will examine all the options. The Deputy is absolutely right. Remote working is good for rural communities. It increases the footfall in the towns. It is good for the work-life balance and for the environment with less time spent commuting. All in all, I am a great supporter of the remote working hubs. When we consider the new strategy, we will see how we can make it even stronger. We know ourselves that there is many the person who spends three days at home and two days commuting and the remote working hub is far healthier for people than sitting at a kitchen table.
As the Minister said, it is really good. It is even great for the climate because there is less traffic on the road and people are nearer to where they can work. I welcome this and the fact the hubs are doing so well and are being used. They are really positive for rural Ireland. Working with the Minister, I am always promoting broadband or different connections because it is important that everyone has proper connections.
I have something to ask the Minister before she goes because I may not get to see her. I met with a group of people today from St. Catherine's Community Centre in Carlow. It is under the Minister's remit. She will be well aware of the moving on learning for everyday life programme. It has been under threat due to the activation and family support programme, ASFP, funding being denied. I am really worried about this. St. Catherine's is a great community centre. Will the Minister look into it for me to see if she can get me the funding? If the community centre does not get the funding, it will be really serious. Its representatives are looking for a meeting with the Minister but I met with them today. I say it to the Minister while I have her in the Chamber.
Yesterday, I listened in to the Western Development Commission meeting, which recently had research completed by the University of Galway where 44% of respondents said that remote working was key to their future employment. Remote working and the hubs have been a game-changer, especially in rural Ireland. It has repopulated many towns and villages. In a relatively short time, when Covid-19 hit us, we had a huge migration of people from our major cities or from across in the UK or Australia or America moving back home, being able to work within their locality, and making huge life choices for the benefit of their kids and family. This was a result of the Minister's policy and the swiftness of the connected hubs scheme and those who delivered it.
I know one man, Stephen Carolan, who was project manager for many of them and with whom I am familiar. He was essential to that, along with his team. I commend the connected hubs and the national hub network team on their delivery.
I thank Deputy Dillon. As he knows, during the Covid pandemic, I was the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, then moved into the rural community space. I was absolutely committed to remote working because I could see it was going to change rural Ireland, and it did change it. We asked the Western Development Commission to roll out the connected hubs platform and it has been working hard on that. It has been doing that and working on our behalf. We fund it to do that work. I have to say it is useful. Some of the surveys and findings are very interesting. We are ahead of the curve compared with other countries. The OECD singled us out as being among the best countries for our remote working policy. We have an offering that is probably ahead of many countries. When investors are looking at this country, employers do not have to look at one place. They can look all across the country because we have the network of hubs. Many multinationals use our hubs as spaces for their staff. I have met people who work for multinationals. I was in Abbeyshrule and a few different places. I cannot remember them all. They are working for international companies. Is that not just wonderful? People are living in rural Ireland and contributing to the locality.
With regard to St. Catherine's, I am not sure. Deputy Murnane O'Connor will have to give us more detail. We are not sure on that.
No problem.
There are a number of different funders. The Deputy is coming with details.
They have been delivered.
