Mr. Ken Tobin:

The question of who leads the process is key.

I echo the Senator's point and agree that if the funding and a team were put in place, Enterprise Ireland should be the body to lead it, but I also acknowledge that funding may not necessarily be available in the current structures. It needs to be a dedicated team. Myriad organisations are involved. The committee has heard from Grow Remote and Abodoo and there are individual organisations representing hubs throughout the country. It needs to be one co-ordinated approach and it should not be over-complicated. It is actually quite simple and the issues are obvious. For example, within the SME sector in Dublin there is a huge drain on staff and SMEs are in serious competition with larger organisations to retain them. This would be a win-win. It is very simple to organise once the funding is put in place.

I want to touch on a couple of the questions raised. It is good to acknowledge that for policy makers there is an element of catch-up in this scenario, but it comes down to the key collaboration that needs to happen with those already in the space and policy makers. It should be done without over-complicating things because it is very simple when we break it down.

Should a specific Department be involved? The answer is definitely "Yes". The Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation needs to be involved and take a lead role because it is already in contact with all of the organisations.

Deputy Martin Kenny mentioned connectivity and one of his constituents not being able to take up a role with eBay. We had a similar issue in County Kerry where remote working opportunities with Amazon came our way. Some 60 positions were advertised in the first round, but we could fill only 40 of them because of the problems with broadband in some parts of the county. There are opportunities. Again, these things could be fast-tracked using local Internet service providers who would fast-track the service using a wireless system. In Listowel we have proved it can work in using the coverage provided by local Internet service providers. It is demand-led, but it is further reaching and quicker to get off the ground than investing in the provision of long-term infrastructure.

In regard to regional towns, the framework document for town centre renewal was published a number of years back, but it has not yet gone far enough. There is a collaborative town centre health check programme as part of it and 12 towns have completed the programme, which was step one. Step two is to formulate funded town teams, but, unfortunately, most of the 12 towns have not yet got to that stage. However, there is a framework document and we just need to go one step further. As the Deputy said, it is not always about infrastructure but about vibrancy and sustaining local businesses. It is about the pub, the shop and the restaurant. That is what we need if we are to attract back the younger generation of workers when they graduate from colleges. We do not want them to head off to Dublin. We want to keep them in the regional towns where they went to college. Senator Coffey mentioned this in the case of Waterford. It is the same in the case of Tralee Institute of Technology which is in the battle to retain staff. If we do not have a vibrant town for them to stay in, of course, they will head off to the city. There is a framework in place. We just need to go one step further.

I agree with Deputy Michael Collins. As I married a Bantry woman, I empathise with those living in south-west Cork. However, there is a lot more that could be done in such areas; it is not just about the regeneration fund.