Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 November 2023
9. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development if she will advise of the recent engagement her Department had with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on remote working to support rural workers and communities, in view of the recent passing of legislation that will provide the legal right to request remote working; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49719/23]
Amharc ar fhreagraThis question is on the same topic. Will the Minister advise on the recent engagement her Department has had with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on remote working to support rural workers and communities in view of the recent passing of legislation that would provide a legal right to promote working, and will she make a statement on the matter?
The right to request remote working has been integrated into the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 2023, and under the Act allows all employees a right to request remote working. This important legislation is one of a number of steps taken by this Government to support and empower remote workers who can support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable rural communities. Accordingly, under Our Rural Future, my Department has invested in co-working hubs across the country and is leading the development of the national hub network and its online platform, connectedhubs.ie.
The national hub network interdepartmental group was established in 2020 and arose from intensive engagement between my Department and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment on the subject of remote working at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Made up of a number of Government Departments and public bodies, this group is focused on ensuring the critical infrastructure needed to support remote workers is available across the country. On foot of that group’s co-operation, a nationwide network of 330 hubs is now established, with at least 400 expected by 2025. In addition, officials at my Department, in conjunction with colleagues from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, are leading on the formulation of a national hub strategy, which will set out a future direction for the national network of hubs, incorporating enterprise, remote working and community services at hubs across the country. I and my colleagues in government remain committed to ensuring that remote working will continue to deliver real benefits for people all across the country, as envisaged in Our Rural Future.
I am happy to hear of the Minister's fulsome support for remote working and people working from home. The committee was recently on Arranmore during a visit to the islands. It was incredible to hear that, at one stage, there were only two remote workers on the island. That has increased due to the hub and due to improved broadband, which is critical. Our committee is looking at rural broadband in the morning. Twenty-seven people are now working from home on the island, which is really welcome. I have a note of caution and worry about some companies. I am hearing more and more about people being requested, asked or forced back into their offices on occasions when they would like to work from home and work remotely more. Does the Minister believe the legislation is strong enough to protect workers and to make it easier for people to work from home?
The legislation has gone through. It is about how we can encourage people to do remote working. The best place is in remote working hubs. Employers know that. They are in a safe environment. There is good security. In these remote working hubs, there are good firewalls in place. People can have separate rooms if they need confidentiality. We will have our second ever national hub summit in Tullamore, County Offaly, next Wednesday, 22 November. It follows on from last year's event, which was in Athlone. These are the issues that I think we can discuss at the summit. We will bring businesses, the hub managers and the policymakers from across the hub sector to map out a future strategic direction of the national hub network and, through the work of the interdepartmental steering group for the national hub network initiative, my officials, in conjunction with colleagues from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment are working on the new strategy. Again, it is about everybody working together, and trying to allay fears, because maybe some people are not comfortable and want people in the office. Talking with Grow Remote, it is wonderful at promoting remote working.
We need to continuously review the use of remote hubs and whether usage is increasing, with more people signing up to them and using them regularly. That will give an indication of how strong the legislation is to protect workers and to enable them to work from the remote hubs or if they wish to work from home. I think there will be a mixture, as we go forward, of people working from home, in hubs and in their offices where they would normally work. On the issue of collaboration and people working together, there is no doubt that there will be times when people have to be in the office, including for supporting new employees and training, which is important. We need to keep a close eye on this. The best way we can do that is through the hubs and their usage. Will there be a review in maybe a year's time so that we can look at the data coming back from those? That would give us a good indication.
There is about 74% occupancy in the hubs at the minute. The strategy will look at how we can strengthen the hubs and maybe how they can get further occupancy. Some of them will need money to keep them running and I want to support them in that too. We have the infrastructure. We need to make sure we maximise their use and use them as effectively as possible for the benefit of communities. We are liaising with Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. We work closely with Grow Remote. Remote working hubs have turned into landing spaces for companies that want to set up in Ireland. I have one really good example, which is a remote working hub in Cavan. PublicRelay is a US company. I met it a long time ago when I was in New York. It decided to locate to Ireland. Some of its staff are working in the remote working hub in Cavan and others are working in Dublin. There are 25 jobs in Cavan from that foreign direct investment, which is a lot of jobs. We can look forward to more opportunities in the hubs across the country, which will bring that vibrancy and life back into rural Ireland.
