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

There are incentives we are considering to attract remote workers to relocate to rural Ireland. Budget 2022 provides my Department with a funding allocation of €376 million, an increase of €35 million, or 10% on budget 2021, in recognition of the critical role my Department plays in delivering on Our Rural Future. We are considering a number of options, including the use of the connected hubs network, which now includes more than 170 hubs. Research that the Western Development Commission and NUIG have published on remote working in Ireland through the pandemic indicates a significant number of people have already moved to the west. My ambition is that any incentive introduced by my Department creates new reasons to move north, south or west and does not simply reinforce existing mobility drivers.

There is an initiative I am working on with the vintners, namely, the hub in the pub. Covid has left things slower than we hoped but I am working with them on that initiative, which will look at converting pubs during the day to other purposes, such as, if high speed broadband is available, to accommodate remote working.

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