Mr. William Parnell:

The Deputy spoke about the population increase and what needs to happen throughout the regions to meet the targets in the national planning framework. Initiatives such as remote working will help to attract people but also, importantly, to retain them in rural areas. Young people will always want to travel and move to new pastures but, equally, many would like to be able to come back or to remain in rural areas. As we roll out broadband connection points and remote working hubs, it presents an opportunity to change the complexion of rural Ireland and to help to support population retention or population increase.

The Department has been to the fore in leading the Atlantic economic corridor, AEC, initiative, which seeks to attract investment, create jobs and improve quality of life for the region from Kerry to Donegal. The Western Development Commission is the co-ordinating agency for the AEC initiative. The initiative is very important because it covers whole-region investment to try to attract foreign direct investment or indigenous enterprise to invest in the region, and it has met with some success. The remote working hub network project is being driven by the AEC initiative. We work closely with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly in respect of the AEC initiative and it has been very supportive and good at inputting to the initiative. The Deputy asked about the opportunity that will come from the European Regional Development Fund. We will work closely with the Northern and Western Regional Assembly and the Southern Regional Assembly in respect of the Atlantic economic corridor to cover those counties that are further south. While that region in the north west was regarded as a region in transition, it nonetheless highlights the need for investment and the opportunity to get that higher rate of investment from the EU.

I might ask Ms de Brúch to respond to the Deputy's queries on the islands before I say a little about the broadband connection points and remote working hubs on the islands.