Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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320. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount allocated to invest in remote working hubs in each of the years 2021 to 2025. [33724/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Remote working has the potential to transform rural Ireland, allowing people to build and maintain careers in good quality jobs while living closer to home, and generating increased economic activity in our rural towns and villages.

My Department funds the development of remote working facilities through three main programmes: the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the Connected Hubs Call (a strand of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme). In addition, the Broadband Connection Point (BCP) Initiative will connect 300 BCPs, many of whom will offer remote working facilities.

As the Deputy will be aware, there is a specific €5m in funding for 2021 within the Town and Village Renewal Scheme to support a Connected Hubs Call, for which applications have recently closed. The regular Town and Village Renewal Scheme has a €15m allocation for 2021. The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund is also providing support for developing remote working facilities, often in the context of wider economic development projects in rural areas. The most recent tranche of successful category 1 projects demonstrates the level of investment and support for access to remote working. Further information can be found at this address: www.assets.gov.ie/132661/55bc580e-e7ab-486c-909a-b20a9b4ce874.pdf.

It is worth noting that since 2016 my Department has invested more than €50 million in the development of remote working facilities through the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.

In terms of investment in future years, while the review of the National Development Plan is ongoing, the outcome will be important for sustained investment for remote working in rural areas. The programmes that are currently in place in my Department offer differing scales of investment needed to support different rural areas. I intend to ensure this support continues into the future in order to capitalise on the social and economic benefits that remote working can deliver for towns, villages and rural areas across Ireland.

Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein)
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321. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the amount invested in remote working hubs in 2020. [33725/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The increased shift to remote working as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic has given us the opportunity for a greater regional distribution of jobs and to support a better quality of life for many people who previously spent many hours in long commutes.

Remote working has the potential to transform rural Ireland, allowing people to build careers in good quality jobs while continuing to live closer to home, and to generate increased economic activity in our rural towns.

Close to €9M was invested in projects in 2020 that incorporated the development of remote working facilities through the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Programme in 2020.

Since 2016 my Department has invested more than €50 million in the development of remote working facilities through the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. Investment in new remote working facilities will continue in 2021 through further calls for both schemes.

I have also allocated €5 million to fund a Connected Hubs Call this year. This initiative will provide funding to support small scale capital works in existing hubs and Broadband Connection Points. Applications are currently being evaluated by my officials and I expect to shortly be in a position to announce the results of the evaluation process.

Significant investment is also being made in remote working infrastructure and connectivity through the Broadband Connection Points (BCP) initiative; a significant number of which are offering remote working facilities.