The Government is committed to supporting remote working, not least in the context of retaining skilled young people in rural communities.
Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the value of remote working in maintaining economic activity and in the provision of many public services has been clearly demonstrated. The increased shift to remote work in the last six months has given us the opportunity to reimagine the possibilities for a greater regional distribution of jobs and to support a better quality of life for many people who previously spent many hours in long commutes.
Remote working has the potential to transform rural Ireland, allowing people to build careers in good quality jobs while continuing to live in their home place. It also provides an opportunity for those that moved away from home for work reasons to return to their roots to raise their families.
Since 2019, my Department has been working with the Western Development Commission to build an integrated network of remote working hubs along the Atlantic Economic Corridor, from Kerry to Donegal. The WDC has identified and mapped more than 120 remote working hubs which serve that region. The approach to building this network and shared backoffice services will serve as a model which can be replicated in other parts of the country.
My Department has allocated €1 million to this project, including the provision of €280,000 to assist the hubs in adapting to the challenges of COVID-19.
In addition, my Department has been working to connect approximately 300 Broadband Connection Points in remote and rural areas across the country. These BCPs will be among the first premises connected under the National Broadband Plan and many of them have the potential to provide remote working facilities.
My Department has also funded a number of hubs under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in the last two years and will continue to explore the options for investment which will support remote working.
