Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

The Senator is correct that no Department should work in a silo. The Tubbercurry smart community is an example of where a number of groups and agencies have come together. When I was there, Sligo IT was very active as well, and, therefore, education comes into it. Returning to what has been said about Grow Remote, I have been informed by the IDA that foreign direct investors want to know that their workers can work from home, not necessarily from the house but that they can work from Tubbercurry, Tuam, Ballinderreen, Gort or wherever. They can work there and, perhaps, drive three miles home. They have a better quality of life and we save significantly on transport costs, emissions and so forth. Ms Keogh referred to win-win and I was impressed by what I saw in Tubbercurry in terms of collective responsibility and collective action on the part of a large number of people. Having met Ms Keogh and her group, I believe wholeheartedly that we are working on something that will make a major difference to rural Ireland. Ms Keogh said the lack of broadband in rural Ireland is not necessarily an inhibitor. If we have places in towns that can take up the slack, we will be able to develop and keep jobs in the towns and villages. That is the first step. Rural broadband is another issue.

I am committed to this and I will be talking to other Departments to explain what is happening here and to get their input. That is a big factor which is often missing. Some Departments do not know what is happening in another Department. There might be good initiatives. Officials could be wondering how they will do something when it has been done.