Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy is absolutely right. There is a broad consensus across the House that this is the time to do it and this is the right opportunity. I discussed public servants earlier. We need to facilitate our public servants to go into designated co-working spaces in towns across the country. We must have it mapped out and planned. That is why we have the interdepartmental group led by my Department. I am aware the Tánaiste's Department is leading a policy on remote working. I am looking after these hubs and interdepartmental group has been set up. First of all, we are mapping it out. We have approximately 350 hubs across the country but some are more suited for community use than remote working full-time. My long-term plan, therefore, is to do that exercise right across the country and develop an app so any worker will be able to log on and find the closest hub.

Of course, the Deputy is absolutely right. That will be a big boost to the IDA when it is trying to attract some of the big tech companies. We already have a top class network of these hubs across the country. We will be able to say here is the skill set and here is the area. It is about the clustering as well as about bringing this information together. It is about putting it on a plate for them and saying we have all that they need. It is important to say that other countries across Europe are doing this as well but I want us to be at the head of this and to make sure we are not left behind.

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