James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

6. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development her plans to open further remote working hubs in County Cork, particularly in the Youghal area. [27657/22]

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I apologise, Acting Chairman, for being absent. I was on a call and did not notice the time going by. I welcome the Minister and congratulate her on the wonderful work she has been doing in her Department. She has been a pleasure to work with on the issue I am raising, as my colleague, Deputy Stanton, will agree. My question relates to remote working infrastructure. This is hugely important in my constituency of Cork East and in other constituencies across the country. It is important to recognise that people saw new light and opportunity in rural Ireland in the context of changed work practices during the pandemic. One aspect of this is having remote working hubs in place. I am aware that many private operators also have an interest in potentially looking at this option. Will the Minister update the House in this regard?

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for his words of encouragement. Our Rural Future, Ireland's Rural Development Policy 2021-25, recognises the potential of remote working hubs as key economic assets for our rural towns and villages. Accordingly, over recent years, my Department has invested some €100 million in the sector to build, improve and expand hubs.

In May 2021, I launched the national hub network. This currently comprises 236 remote and co-working facilities across the State. These facilities have been onboarded to connectedhubs.ie, which is the shared online booking and payments platform for member hubs and their users. The network includes a range of hubs catering for a wide variety of remote and co-working needs. It is expected that, in time, the network and the platform will include more than 400 facilities. Of the 236 hubs on the connectedhubs.ieplatform, 23 are located in County Cork. A further 17 hubs throughout the county, including the Enterprise Youghal hub, have been invited to join the network.

Through the connected hubs 2021 scheme, I awarded almost €9 million in funding to more than 100 applicants, enabling them to add capacity to existing remote working hubs and broadband connection points, BCPs, across the country. More than €425,000 was allocated to County Cork, with funding going to, among others, Macroom E Enterprise Centre, the Benchspace hub and Republic of Work. In February this year, I launched the 2022 connected hubs call, allocating a further €5 million in funding for the development of our national hub network. The evaluation process has now concluded and I will be announcing the successful applicants shortly. I am committed to continuing my Department's support for the ongoing strategic development of a comprehensive and integrated network of remote working hubs in recognition of the vital role they can play in our post-Covid recovery.

Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I have supplementary questions from Deputies Stanton and Burke. I will take them after Deputy O'Connor, if the latter is agreeable.

James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

They are very welcome to do so. I already acknowledged Deputy Stanton's work on this issue. I compliment the fantastic work that is being done by the Department.

I refer specifically to a project in Youghal. This very exciting development, which relates to Youghal Library, is being co-funded by the Department and Cork County Council. This would not be possible if not for the funding allocated by the Department. What I really want to see is the Department working with private partners and local authorities to get this infrastructure put in place for Youghal. It is important that it be done given the economic circumstances in the town, with a view to generating local employment. As a Deputy who was born and raised in the area, I know this is of the utmost importance to the business community in Youghal and also to the many workers who want to explore this particular opportunity. I ask the Minister to continue to recognise the importance of this project. It will be very welcome and is of great importance to Youghal Chamber and other organisations in the town, including Youghal Business Alliance.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I support my colleague, Deputy O'Connor, on this matter and I thank the Minister for the great work she is doing. Are Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment involved in supporting the work to provide remote working hubs and centres? We may need to think even bigger on this issue. Hundreds of thousands of jobs have been announced recently in various cities. Some of those jobs could be relocated to towns like Youghal if the hubs were large enough to take them. This would mean people not having to travel long distances for work. Is that something the Minister might consider as part of policy in this regard, working in conjunction with Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment?

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and acknowledge the work she has done on this issue, including in my constituency of Cork North-Central. We have a hub in both Whitechurch and Courtbrack. As a result of her intervention in engaging with private enterprise, a hub has also been put into Inniscarra community centre, which serves a large population. Although my constituency is largely a city one, it also takes in a large part of rural County Cork, going as far as within 2 miles of Mallow. There are a lot of community groups that are looking for support.

I echo what Deputies O'Connor and Stanton said about the need to engage with private enterprise with a view to getting them involved in providing the connectivity that is needed. In Inniscarra, for instance, we engaged with Cork County Council and with a company called Imagine, which put the infrastructure in place free of charge for two years. Will the Minister encourage more private enterprises to become involved in providing the hubs? There are many areas in which there will not be a broadband connection until 2025 or 2026, even though those areas are less than 12 miles from Cork city.

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

Deputy O'Connor referred to Youghal. I had a great time there with him and Deputy Stanton. It is wonderful what is happening in the town. It certainly is being regenerated and if there is any support we can give to people there, we will, of course, do so. I visited the boardwalk, which is a great addition to the town. Well done to those involved. This is what I want to see happening. There are many different opportunities to apply for funding from my Department and I want to see a bottom-up approach in order to make a difference for communities, villages and towns. Only last week, I announced a specific strand of funding to acquire buildings in town and villages. Local authorities can avail of that money to buy buildings for community use or for the purpose of providing remote working hubs.

Deputy Stanton mentioned Enterprise Ireland and IDA Ireland. We all work together on these issues. The regional enterprise development fund, which is under the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, provides funding in this area. The Tánaiste is doing a lot of work around remote working and we must continue that work. We got a chance during the Covid crisis to change work practices. Continuing that requires new thinking and to look outside the box. In a survey this week, funded by my Department through the Western Development Commission and conducted by NUI Galway, 30% of respondents said they would change jobs and even take a pay cut if remote working were an option. People are looking at their options and taking into consideration such factors as quality of life and reduced commuting times. We want to support them. I feel very passionately about this and I know all the Deputies in the House want to see remote working facilitated. It is about securing top-quality jobs in one's own town or village.