Dr. Stjohn O'Connor:

We are working very closely with Údarás na Gaeltachta. It sits on the interdepartmental group. The second SSID I mentioned is only in the BCPs because that was an initiative that we were in control of and we always had the idea that this might be something that might emerge. There is no extra cost for us at this stage because we can put it in. The additional cost would arise if it is turned on. I doubt it is overly complicated from a technical perspective to install a second SSID. In fact, I know that it is not complicated to do so.

The Deputy asked very relevant questions regarding whether the structures we are putting in place will be redundant. Part of the work is to really understand the network. Without having any data, one just does not know the capacity, the usage numbers or what one's target market is. That is what we are trying to understand. It is probably unlikely that the structures will be redundant. The research that has been done, even within Departments and the wider Civil Service, indicates that working from home does not suit everybody. I have two young children and it can be very tricky for me to work from home. Some of my colleagues have more children than I do and find working from home even more tricky. Working from a remote working facility not far from their home can make much more sense for all the reasons the Deputy outlined. The facility may only be a five-minute walk or five-minute drive from one's home and, as such, one is still in the locality and can return home quickly. The key benefits identified by the research carried out by the WDC and NUIG included the lack of commuting time, while the most important benefit was the cost savings associated with not commuting. Commuting is a big challenge.

The Deputy asked what the business plan is. That is very much on our radar. One can start with a BCP. We are paying for the cost of the equipment going into the BCPs. The plan may depending on whether the location is revenue generating or making a contribution. BCPs have very low costs of operation. All that is needed are a few desks and a Wi-Fi access point. There is effectively no cost apart from a recurring monthly charge, whereas there is obviously much more cost associated with building a digital hub. We need to understand what the business model is. There are five categories in the classification and then below them sit the BCPs. There are also libraries, which provide some level of remote working in rural communities. There are 300 libraries. If they are all on the same booking platform, one can take that cost back up onto that single booking platform and thereby generate revenue. One of the things the WDC and others are looking at is how we would potentially get a couple of the big corporates to act as anchor tenants for the network. In that way, we would be providing them with resilience and allowing them to choose staff from across the country. They would no longer have to choose staff based in places such as Dublin, Cork or Galway but, rather, would have access to talent across the country. Their recruitment would no longer be place-dependent. From their perspective, there are many reasons they would look at that. The Deputy is absolutely right that one of the key things is understanding the business plan behind these hubs. The plans would be very different depending on the nature of the hub. We are looking at the business plan.