Emer Currie (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I want to talk to the Minister of State about the newly found localism that Covid has brought about. It is a positive move. Owing to the travel restrictions, people were forced to stay within a radius of 2 km to 5 km but a side effect was that they discovered what was under their own noses and grew to appreciate it more. We were moving towards a sense of that anyway because of concerns over sustainability and because people were sick of their lifestyles, always being on the go, congestion and chasing their tails.In many families the Covid pandemic brought about another way of doing things. It was not for everybody, particularly people who are working from home in cramped rented accommodation. For many people a new localism is a positive thing.

We have responded to this. The rural strategy has been launched. The Government has acknowledged the opportunity for people to choose where they can live. The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has delivered a legal framework on the code of practice to disconnect and we will see further funding in budget 2022. We have the national broadband plan and the connected hubs network. We are making an effort for our towns and villages to become more attractive places to live. We have increased services to cope with the population shift. Therefore, we have a strategy.

However, what about our suburban and urban villages? The legal framework applies and the national broadband plan applies, but we do not have the same opportunities when it comes to co-working hubs. There are many opportunities for people to open hubs in rural areas, but not the same opportunities in suburban areas and urban villages. The lifestyle pressures are slightly different for suburban and urban areas, but they are just as real. For instance, in the area where I live, in places like Ongar, Blanchardstown village and Castleknock, people do not have the space for home offices.

The Government wants to encourage spending in the local economy. We do not want people to be working from home all the time. We want to see them in our main streets and getting the benefit of that. We need to think of all the families who live in suburban areas and the parents who would benefit from working closer to home. The pandemic has shown us that there are more ways of doing things. For many people the one-size-fits-all approach to working in an office it is not feasible for everybody, whereas remote working gives flexibility to more people.

Funds are available for people who want to open co-working hubs in rural places but there is very little when it comes to suburban and urban areas where I live which would really benefit from them.