Our Rural Future, Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, recognises the opportunity for rural rejuvenation that remote working presents and commits to establishing a comprehensive and integrated network of remote working hubs over the lifetime of the policy to 2025.
A number of funding streams operated by my Department directly support this commitment. For example, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme both support the establishment of new digital hubs. Under this year's schemes, projects that bring vacant properties in town centres back into use as remote working hubs were eligible to apply for funding. Projects that repurpose existing community or publicly owned buildings in town or village centres to facilitate remote working were also eligible.
In addition, earlier this year I awarded almost €9 million in funding through the Connected Hubs funding stream to add capacity to remote working infrastructure in digital hubs and broadband connection points throughout the country. Details of successful applications, including those in County Wicklow, are available on my Department's website.
In May I launched the National Connected Hubs network together with the connectedhubs.ie platform. The platform offers a suite of booking and hub management applications to members of the Network. There are currently 170 hubs live on the platform, with this number growing on an ongoing basis. Table 1 (attached) provides the number of remote working hubs onboarded onto the platform to date by county, together with remote working hubs that have been mapped and are invited to join the National Connected Hubs Network.
TABLE 1 - NATIONAL HUBS NETWORK STATUS
County
|
Live on the connectedhubs.ie platform
|
Mapped and invited to join the connectedhubs.ie platform
|
Carlow
|
4
|
3
|
Cavan
|
3
|
6
|
Clare
|
10
|
7
|
Cork
|
13
|
18
|
Donegal
|
11
|
11
|
Dublin
|
27
|
38
|
Galway
|
16
|
27
|
Kerry
|
13
|
13
|
Kildare
|
3
|
7
|
Kilkenny
|
1
|
5
|
Laois
|
4
|
5
|
Leitrim
|
7
|
14
|
Limerick
|
10
|
11
|
Longford
|
2
|
3
|
Louth
|
3
|
7
|
Mayo
|
11
|
21
|
Meath
|
0
|
12
|
Monaghan
|
6
|
3
|
Offaly
|
4
|
10
|
Roscommon
|
4
|
14
|
Sligo
|
3
|
9
|
Tipperary
|
4
|
21
|
Waterford
|
4
|
8
|
Westmeath
|
0
|
8
|
Wexford
|
5
|
9
|
Wicklow
|
2
|
4
|
TOTAL
|
170
|
294
|
The development of a national hubs network is a key commitment in Our Rural Future and 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.