Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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138. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the extent to which he and his Department continue to encourage major corporations currently located in this country to use digital hubs as a means of virtually bringing their employees under one roof with consequent benefit to all; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38977/21]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
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IDA Ireland was one of many stakeholders who worked with the Department of Community and Rural Development on the project to implement the National Hubs Network which was branded ConnectedHubs Ireland. This projectis now being managed by the Western Development Commissionand is intended as a single registry of all remote working hubs in Ireland.

It is envisioned that there will be 450 Hubs listed nationally. 115 are already classified by the Western Development Commission and these Hubs will generally include formal serviced offices, co-working spaces and enterprise centres.

There is a web platform (similar to Airbnb) which has been operational since April 2021 which will allow users to identify available spaces, and book and pay online. Hubs will also be evaluated against the new National Association of Community Enterprise Centres (NACEC) Quality Mark-Standard/Certification criteria. Additional properties will be added on a phased basis.

IDA has liaised with the Western Development Commission on Public Relations, Content Creation & Marketing Collateral to ensure relevant messaging for an FDI audience. The availability of a national hubs network is an additional value proposition to add to the suite of other marketing tools for use in the attraction of FDI to Ireland and the hubs in addition provide a valuable option for existing multinational corporations to utilise if they wish to attract employees who do not live in close proximity to the entity.