Garret Ahearn (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy English, to the Chamber. I welcome the motion and congratulate my colleague, Senator Currie, on the work she has done on this. Long before most people were speaking about remote working or Covid-19, the Senator was advocating a change in view in how we will work and live in future. From all of the contributions, most people recognise the importance of remote working and everything that goes with it. I agree with what Senator Byrne said about the right to disconnect. This is part of society adjusting to the opportunity of remote working. In my household, we try to work 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. but it can be quite difficult. People who have children do not get what they would normally view as a full day's work done between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. and they can find that they are working later at night. It is quite difficult to manage. I suppose this is a process we will learn as we go on. The key is having the option. Just because there is remote working does not mean people cannot work in a workplace if that is what they choose to do. It is about having as many options for people as possible so they can be part of the workforce and contribute in a positive and effective way in whatever work they do.

In Tipperary, the most important factor in remote working and giving people this opportunity is broadband. Many people in Tipperary work in Cork, Limerick, Waterford or Dublin. They do so because they need to but not always because they want to do so five days a week. Broadband will be a game changer. Fine Gael is the only party that supported the national broadband plan long before the Covid-19 pandemic highlighted the necessity of a reliable broadband connection. Broadband is coming to every town, village and community throughout the country. This is based on Fine Gael's ambition to make Ireland one of the first countries in the world where every home, business and farm has access to high-speed broadband. This is a huge project that will take time. If we could, we would do it overnight but it has started. While Covid-19 might have delayed us it will not stop us and Fine Gael is determined that the 1.1 million people in 544,000 homes, 695 schools, 54,000 farms and 44,000 businesses in the country will be online under the national broadband plan. Not one of the Opposition parties supported Fine Gael's broadband plan and they sought to block it at every turn. There are remote and rural areas in Ireland where commercial providers were not investing, and if it were not for Fine Gael, places such as Tipperary would not have had investment in broadband.