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

I agree there is more we can do on our connected hubs. We now have a wonderful network. We are one of the first, certainly in Europe if not globally, to have such a network of hubs throughout our country. In fact at an OECD conference Ireland was singled out as being leaders in this field. The Deputy is right that there is more we can do. I asked the Western Development Commission, which manages the connected hubs platform on behalf of the Department, to look at how we can maximise the use of these hubs because they are great assets to any town or village because they bring footfall to rural areas and allow people to work remotely. When the Deputy was Minister for communications he signed that broadband contract and that has been a game-changer in rural Ireland. It, together with connected hubs, is making a real difference.

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