Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all the witnesses and thank them for their contributions. Last week, representatives from Grow Remote were here to talk about the work they are doing on similar lines. I represent Sligo-Leitrim and live in south Leitrim, which is quite rural. It is probably one of the employment black spots mentioned. Interestingly, somebody I was talking to some days ago was considering a job online — I believe it was with eBay — but it had to be done from home because some of the work was to be in the evening and some in the early morning. The individual had no Internet so there was not a chance of getting the job. That is a big problem for people who live in certain rural areas. I accept that high-speed broadband is available in many regional towns, etc., but the problem arises when one goes out into the countryside a bit. We need to address this.

There is great potential, however. It was suggested there should be a Government-backed team to pull it all together Is Grow Remote doing a bit of that? Are other small groups doing part of what is being talked about? Are the delegates saying we need to work in a proper, organised fashion and have the Government step in? I agree this would be the way forward. What can happen is that the process can become bitty rather than streamlined across the whole region.

Mr. Tobin spoke about making regional towns more attractive for people to live and work in. Much of this concerns having the correct infrastructure in place. A good few years ago, Peter Quinn Consultancy Services in Fermanagh carried out a study on foreign direct investment on where companies wanted to send their executives to live and work. It was found that education was a big factor. The companies wanted to know their managers would have good schools, in addition to recreation facilities and hospitals, and that healthcare would be adequately provided for. The study found that executives also like to have nice restaurants and theatres to go to. The companies like to be close to airports so executives can fly in, meet in company offices and get back on a plane and fly away quickly. These infrastructural elements are key but we should not lose sight of the reality that it is not just about good roads and transport; it is also about having the services in place for people who want to live in the areas in question. This will be key to getting people to come back to live in rural areas.

The delegates felt legislation to develop a national policy on remote working is required so it will become the norm. Reference was made to flexible working regulations. There is already legislation for people to have the option of part-time work. An employer has to accept that an employee can request it. We need to examine this in connection with remote working. On the question of incentives for employers, revenue schemes and allowances for remote workers, most people are talking about the private sector whereby a lot of the work is done at home on a laptop, but the public sector also comes into play. While we have had many rows about decentralisation in the past, it is really about getting it right and working out how we can do it properly. I know staff in the public sector who work two days at home and three in the office. Therefore, there is an element of working from home in the public sector. The key task, as Mr. Tobin said, is making sure that we streamline the process and that the Government takes charge of it, organises it, structures it and drives it forward.

Working from home might suit individuals very well when they have children, for example, but as they get on a little and experience the empty nest, they might discover sitting at home in front of the laptop all day is not very sociable. The hubs would be a better model for many.

Let me refer to the rights of the employee. Everyone who works in this establishment is clearly a member of a trade union and has rights, which can be established and worked through. An employee can do something about a problem if one arises. If, however, an employee is working at home, or in a hub where there is only one other employee working for the same company, there needs to be some way to ensure his or her rights will be upheld. Perhaps we could speak to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions about how it is organising in this regard. It is a separate issue.

Co-ordinating this initiative is what we really need to drive. I strongly believe we need to ensure a commitment by the Government to provide the correct infrastructure. A major part of that infrastructure is broadband but there are also other aspects.

When people talk about rural Ireland, they talk about equality. The difference between the equality and equity was explained to me once very well. In rural areas, we need to achieve equity. Consider the circumstances when two people who want to look over a wall that is too high are each given a box of the same size on which to stand. If the first can see over the wall and the second, being a little shorter, cannot, both will have been treated equally but equity will not have been established. We need to see not only equal resources going into rural areas but extra resources to establish equity because they have long been left behind. The area I come from was the last place to see the boom and the first to see the decline. That is what always happens. We need to try to reverse that. I certainly welcome this effort to try to do so. Those are the key points we need to deal with. We need to ensure sufficient commitment. This means some element of the Government needs to take charge. We need to take charge of the infrastructure and consider the rights of the workers when established.