Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Kerrane and I will first address the issue of remote working. The Tánaiste is absolutely committed to remote working and is bringing through legislation that will give workers the right to request to work remotely.

Some people will wish to work remotely for a number of days a week while for others, it is about going into their offices for a couple of days, so we must get the blend right. I am totally committed to remote working, as is the Government. Remote working will make a huge difference to towns and villages, and will breathe new life into them. Remote working will increase footfall. People can use hubs, which I think are the best place in which to work remotely. We know working from home can be lonely. I am always concerned that a person's work life impinges on home life and there is no demarcation. Availing of a remote working hub will mean that one can finish a day's work and then go home. These hubs need to be close enough to people's homes to allow them to either walk or cycle to them so they must be within a reasonable distance.

As members will know, the policy, Our Rural Future, was launched at the end of March and it is the Government's blueprint for rural development over the next five years. Implementation will be across Government and it will be ensured by developing the annual work programme, of which I have a copy to hand. It is an extensive document and has been published on my Department's website.

I am glad to say that since we launched the policy, actions have already taken place. We have launched the €5 million connected hubs initiative and have approved €81 million for successful projects under the rural regeneration scheme. We have launched the €70 million LEADER programme, announced a fund of €72.8 million for 340 active travel projects in 19 local authorities and have seen the approval of the joint application by Athlone Institute of Technology, IT, and Limerick for designation as a technological university. We have had the launch of the final call for applications to the LEADER food initiative, a new action plan for apprenticeships has been published, the 2021 town and village renewal scheme has been launched and a €14 million fund for outdoor adventure activities under the outdoor recreation infrastructure scheme has been announced and the Local Link service has been expanded to Dingle..

There are many new measures. We have achieved that already and are now working on the other initiatives and actions in the policy. We will invest significantly in remote working facilities and in developing the network of more than 400 remote working hubs. We also want to establish the rural youth assembly. I am just giving the Deputy some of the highlights of what is contained in the policy document, including the development of a pilot scheme to support the use of rural hubs as community spaces and centres for local services, the publication of Ireland's first ever national outdoor recreation strategy and examination of the establishment of a community ownership fund to help communities take over local community assets at risk of being lost.

The way this will work is that I will report to the Cabinet on the progress being made and we will be giving a report on a six-monthly basis. We will then review the document after a year. This is a living document and if we have to insert new initiatives and measures into it, then that is what we want to do. We want to ensure that the policy is relevant. If I had been writing this document three years ago, we would have been putting a focus on remote working, but nowhere near the extent that we are now. Therefore, as things change, we want this document to remain relevant to rural Ireland. This Our Rural Future rural development policy commits to developing an effective rural-proofing model to ensure that all Departments fully consider the effects of their decisions on rural communities and how proposals may be adjusted to mitigate any negative impacts in that regard.