James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

That is interesting. I am 24 years old and many of my friends and colleagues are going into the working world for the first time after completing higher education. One thing that many have really missed out on, particularly at the very outset of their career, has been that introduction into the workspace. They were not able to have induction sessions with their employers throughout Covid and obviously the birth of mass remote working, which we are now seeing internationally, is having an impact. I would question the current standard practice by a lot of firms that are offering remote jobs. Many are allowing their employees to leave Ireland and work in other locations. This is becoming quite common and is having a detrimental impact on people who are going into a working environment for the first time. I make that point to the witnesses, having spoken to people who are just starting out in work. They are losing out on that face-to-face engagement with their managers. Perhaps we need guidelines rather than legislation around this because the latter would be too prescriptive but it is important that the Government looks at this matter.

When it comes to the provision of broadband, has any research been undertaken on how many people engaged in remote working are having significant issues with broadband connections? Is it more of a problem in rural areas? Are there any statistics available on that? Obviously, there is a big difference between areas that have access to high-speed broadband and those, mostly rural areas, that do not. My own constituency has quite poor broadband infrastructure outside of the main towns. Obviously that is having an impact on people who want to engage in remote working. I invite our guest to answer that question.