Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

According to the 2022 census, 32% of people in Ireland, including 15,300 people in Donegal, work from home for at least some part of their week. When considering business support packages, it is important that we also consider supporting businesses to offer the option of remote working and support the transition to remote working. There are companies with jobs that exist only online and these need to be targeted. Remote working has the ability to improve access to work for those who face obstacles in taking up employment, such as people with disabilities, those with long-term health conditions and those from rural communities.

Remote working has significantly improved the lives of many in the west of Ireland. It has allowed many of my constituents in Donegal to take up employment in companies that are based in the capital and further afield, giving them access they previously did not have to different types of employment and giving many people the freedom to return to Donegal to live and work.

Last week, I met Grow Remote, which works to improve and expand remote working in Donegal and across the country and whose aim is to make remote work accessible for everyone. It outlined the importance of digital hubs, such as in Árainn Mhór, in providing necessary facilities, high speed internet and the opportunity for workers to engage socially in an office environment while working remotely. Bizarrely, remote working is not promoted by the State's employment agencies, Enterprise Ireland or IDA Ireland. Grow Remote is a voluntary body and is happy to develop this aspect of employment and should be supported by the State in doing so.

There are currently 14 digital hubs across the county of Donegal. I am delighted that another will be opening in Island House in Killybegs in the next few months when works in the town are completed. This would allow more people to come to and back to Killybegs, which would be great for the town, community and small businesses in terms of making them more sustainable. I would urge the Government and councils to expand this even further and provide more digital hubs across the county.

Digital hubs provide an opportunity for us to reinvigorate our local communities, promote a better work-life balance for individuals and support a green transition. Remote working has the potential to have a very positive impact on our society. However, this can only be the case if high-speed broadband is prioritised and provided to everyone. For many in Dublin and across the country, access to fibre broadband might seem like a given and an issue that was resolved long ago. Sadly, however, this is not the case.

There are places in Killybegs that have an anticipated date for connection to high-speed fibre broadband of December 2026. This is completely unacceptable, and it is unfair that there are some in this country who are still waiting for access to high-speed broadband and will be waiting for a further two years at least. Remote working has the potential to somewhat address this inequality in terms of access to work opportunities for people in rural communities and stimulate and provide business for small employers, which is vitally important.

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