Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. To add to what Deputy Naughten said, the dynamics in terms of people's working lives have changed.

We have seen at first hand what has happened with Covid-19 and how people are now working from home. The potential for remote working is unreal. We need to assist those who wish to work from home in doing so by providing a tax relief on the investment they must make. A sum of €3.20 per day is not a sufficient incentive for those who must adjust in order to work from home. The opportunity exists. We are investing so much money in broadband through the national broadband plan. I supported this from day one and believe it is important but, to ensure we have the take-up of remote working required, people need to be able to work from home in a way that has been demonstrated in the past six months during the Covid pandemic. We need to expand on it. Doing so will help people in their daily and working lives and give them a better quality of life from a family perspective. Also, it will help with regard to equipment right across the country. I support the removal of the barriers and incentivising people to work from home in a way that is right and proper.

The number of telephone calls I get daily in my constituency office on the lack of broadband has accelerated in recent months because people see what the lack of broadband means. They cannot fully work from home because of the lack of broadband, nor can their children do their studies at home. In both national and secondary schools, a lot of work is now being done online. Therefore, it is important that we consider this. The dynamics have changed.