Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I welcome that the interdepartmental group has been established. Can the Minister give me some more information as to when she expects this group to come back to her as to how we roll out the remote working hubs? I welcome the €5 million that was announced in the budget which will really make a difference. It will allow people to remain and work in their communities and to spend in the local economy. It will also significantly reduce the commuting of people out of their areas to bigger urban areas for work.

The Minister may be aware that the regional assemblies together published a report last month identifying how one in four private sector workers could be targeted for remote working. That would of course be a much larger figure when it comes to public service workers. What these assemblies have found is that over 40,000 people in the west and north west alone, private sector workers, will be in a position to work remotely. This means 40,000 less commuters and 40,000 more people at home in their areas spending locally. The concern is that while we have funding, we need a strategy urgently so that we are not just investing in hubs but we have a strategy for this. My question therefore relates to the interdepartmental group.

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