Emer Currie (Dublin West, Fine Gael)

Ireland is a leader in remote working, and that is not by accident. Approximately 15% of people in Ireland work remotely on a full-time basis. That compares with an average of just 10% across Europe. Access to any form of hybrid or remote work stands at 37%, which is also higher than the European average. I want to speak specifically about the benefits of fully remote and locationless work, distinct from hybrid models. Hybrid arrangements, while highly valuable, still require proximity to the office and, therefore, have limitations on where employees can live. Fully remote work, however, opens up opportunities to every corner of the country, bringing the same high-quality job to Boyle in Roscommon as it does to Blanchardstown in Dublin West. It means that where you live no longer limits the work you do.

According to Grow Remote, the average salary of remote workers in Ireland is €63,000, which is significantly higher than the €43,000 average in the five lowest income counties. For every remote job, there is an additional 0.7 jobs created indirectly in the local economy. Securing more of these remote roles locally not only strengthens the local economy of towns and villages but also plays a vital role in driving balanced regional development across the country.

Of course, it is not just about regional balance and renewal. On a personal note, as a mum of two children who lives in Dublin, I do not know how I would have managed to get elected or to keep up with the always-on nature of political life if my husband did not work remotely. Remote work has given us the flexibility to juggle school drop-offs and pick-ups and still be present when it matters. It has allowed us to be the parents and professionals we want to be. Flexible and remote work arrangements have contributed to record levels of labour force participation. A recent Department of Finance report credited these arrangements with increasing the number of women in the workforce despite the ongoing challenges in childcare provision.

Our success has not happened by chance. It has been driven by targeted policy. Our Rural Future rolled out nearly 400 connected hubs across the country. We had the making remote work strategy, which included Europe's largest State-funded remote work training scheme through Grow Remote, equipping workers and SMEs with the skills they need. Of course, Ireland's digital connectivity strategy will deliver high-speed fibre broadband to over 1 million homes, farms and businesses by 2026, which is ahead of schedule. We need to protect and grow that success. Remote work needs to continue to be supported by targeted policy.

There seems to be a global rowing back on remote work, often driven by hunches rather than evidence. Some argue that remote workers are less productive but studies, both at home and abroad, simply do not support that claim. For every remote job posting, there are more than twice as many applications compared with office-based roles. Workers want it and employers who want to attract top talent will continue to offer remote options. What comes next?

The four-year-old making remote work framework has been successful but we now need a new national strategy that treats remote work as a pillar of job creation alongside FDI and indigenous enterprise. That strategy should embed remote work into national job targets. We should create a unit within our enterprise ecosystem to attract international locationless jobs to Ireland. We must improve data collection so we know which jobs are truly remote, who is benefiting and how we can spread that. We should deliver a national remote work skills training plan for workers and SMEs to ensure that remote work is as accessible as possible. We need to continue investment in digital infrastructure and community hubs. If we secured just 10% of the 100,000 fully remote jobs currently advertised across Europe on a monthly basis, it would generate an additional €100 million annually to the Exchequer.

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