Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 December 2022
412. Deputy Denis Naughten asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the steps that she is taking to assist private sector employers to support employees working from home and digital co-working hubs in local towns; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [58140/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOur Rural Future, Ireland’s Rural Development Policy, was published in March 2021. The policy recognises the opportunity for rural rejuvenation that remote working presents and commits to establishing a comprehensive and integrated national network of 400 remote working hubs by 2025.
In furtherance of this commitment, my Department’s focus to date has been on strategically developing the National Hub Network, the Network's shared online booking platform connectedhubs.ie, adding capacity to Ireland's existing remote working infrastructure, and supporting the establishment of new hubs.
There are currently 298 remote and co-working facilities across the country on-boarded to the connectedhubs.ie platform. This number is growing all the time meaning we are well on track to meet our target of 400 remote working hubs nationwide by 2025. The network includes a diverse range of hubs and services, thus facilitating companies of different sizes. The attached table provides a breakdown of the 298 hubs by county (including hubs that have been mapped and identified to join the network).
My department has invested approximately €150 million to support the establishment, improvement and sustainability of hubs, through schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. Within this funding, approximately €14 million was allocated to almost 200 projects via the Connected Hubs Call in 2021 and 2022. This allowed for additional remote working capacity to be added to digital hubs (and Broadband Connection Points (BCPs)) throughout the country.
To date my focus has been on establishing the Network, on achieving this initial critical mass and on raising awareness of the Network to relevant stakeholders, including SMEs/business owners and new hub users. Following strong progress on the establishment phase of the project, my focus has now shifted to the next stage of development. To this end, officials at my department and their colleagues across government departments will begin drafting of a National Hubs Strategy.
I am also pleased to say that the connectedhubs.ie team have for some time been developing a corporate service to engage with and support corporate clients interested in using our nationwide Network to accommodate their employees, but also to gain access to the vast pool of talent that Ireland has to offer, whether those talented people live in our cities, towns, villages or rural parishes. I believe that this work represents significant opportunities for employers of all sizes to leverage the National Hub Network directly.
I have always been clear that balanced regional development, sustainable and thriving communities, and indeed the wider national economy will all benefit from workers and employers embracing the remote working revolution. Hubs, whether enterprise or community focused, draw employers and employees to areas of innovation and opportunity, including rural communities.
I am committed to ensuring that the National Hub Network will continue to make a central contribution to the achievement of the Government's vision for rural Ireland, as set out in Our Rural Future.
TABLE 1 – Connectedhubs.ie - Remote Working Hubs by County (as of the 12th of December 2022)
|
Live on the connectedhubs.ie platform |
Mapped to be invited to join the connectedhubs.ie platform |
Total |
|
|
Carlow |
5 |
8 |
13 |
|
Cavan |
7 |
7 |
14 |
|
Clare |
13 |
10 |
23 |
|
Cork |
30 |
16 |
46 |
|
Donegal |
15 |
18 |
33 |
|
Dublin |
46 |
35 |
81 |
|
Galway |
24 |
31 |
54 |
|
Kerry |
19 |
9 |
28 |
|
Kildare |
8 |
6 |
14 |
|
Kilkenny |
3 |
7 |
10 |
|
Laois |
4 |
7 |
11 |
|
Leitrim |
9 |
17 |
26 |
|
Limerick |
13 |
13 |
26 |
|
Longford |
4 |
6 |
10 |
|
Louth |
8 |
9 |
17 |
|
Mayo |
22 |
18 |
40 |
|
Meath |
6 |
17 |
23 |
|
Monaghan |
6 |
9 |
15 |
|
Offaly |
6 |
11 |
17 |
|
Roscommon |
8 |
14 |
22 |
|
Sligo |
6 |
8 |
14 |
|
Tipperary |
10 |
21 |
31 |
|
Waterford |
8 |
10 |
18 |
|
Westmeath |
3 |
10 |
13 |
|
Wexford |
7 |
10 |
17 |
|
Wicklow |
8 |
3 |
11 |
|
Total |
298 |
332 |
630 |
