Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome Grow Remote here. I went to a chapter meeting in Clarecastle, County Clare, and I saw how this works. It was incredible. I must compliment Ms Keogh and Mr. Ellingstad for doing this because they are making a real difference. Every rural community in Ireland can benefit from Grow Remote. It is such a simple idea but it works. It is about bringing everything together. Mr. Ellingstad hit on the core point stating that one needs a structure.

The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, was talking about town and village, the CLAR programme and other revenue sources. There are 40 different chapters in Ireland and abroad. We need to put together a package where Grow Remote could link in with SMEs or multinational companies - Mr. Ellingstad touched on it as well as a culture of trust between the employee and the employer where one is working remotely from his or her house or co-working space. Dublin's urban sprawl would benefit from this as well as fewer people would be commuting. There are the issues of housing in Dublin, pressure on schools and whatever else. Working remotely is the way to go.

Ms Keogh mentioned producing an in-depth report on working remotely.