Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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367. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the extent to which she and her Department propose to encourage the creation of digital hubs outside of the main areas of investment with a view to lowering the pressure on transport and communications in those areas most densely populated; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61043/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future, Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, recognises the opportunity for rural rejuvenation that remote working presents and commits to establishing a comprehensive and integrated network of remote working hubs over the lifetime of the policy to 2025.

The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme both support the establishment of new digital hubs. Under this year's schemes, projects that bring vacant properties in town centres back into use as remote working hubs were eligible to apply for funding. Projects that repurpose existing community or publicly owned buildings in town or village centres to facilitate remote working were also eligible.

In May I launched the National Connected Hubs network together with the connectedhubs.ie platform. The platform offers a suite of booking and hub management applications to members of the Network. There are currently 170 hubs live on the platform, with this number growing on an ongoing basis. Table 1 (attached) provides the number of remote working hubs onboarded onto the platform to date by county, together with remote working hubs that have been mapped to be invited to join the National Connected Hubs Network.

TABLE 1 - NATIONAL HUBS NETWORK STATUS

The National Hub Network includes a diverse range of hubs, services and facilities. The Network can thus facilitate a wide range of users, including individual users as well as companies of different sizes with varying requirements. Notwithstanding the clear benefits to individuals and families in terms of quality of life indicators, remote working from hubs will also support local economies, reduce carbon emissions and may arrest or reverse the depopulation of certain areas. To this end, I has instructed my officials to work with the Western Development Commission to explore the potential climate-related benefits of the National Hub Network.

Earlier this year I awarded almost €9 million in funding through the Connected Hubs funding stream to add capacity to remote working infrastructure in digital hubs and broadband connection points throughout the country.

The development of a National Hubs Network is a key commitment in Our Rural Futureand I am committed to continuing my Department's support for the development of a comprehensive and integrated network of remote working hubs, including digital hubs outside of the main areas of investment, in recognition of the vital role that they can play in our post-Covid recovery.

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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368. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the degree to which she continues to interact with large employers in the more densely populated areas of Ireland with a view to the development of digital hubs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [61044/21]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future, Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025, recognises the opportunity for rural rejuvenation that remote working presents and commits to establishing a comprehensive and integrated network of remote working hubs over the lifetime of the policy to 2025.

In May I launched the National Connected Hubs network together with the connectedhubs.ie platform. The platform offers a suite of booking and hub management applications to members of the Network. There are currently 170 hubs live on the platform, with this number growing every week.

The National Hub Network includes a diverse range of hubs, services and facilities. The Network can thus facilitate a wide range of users, including individual users as well as companies of different sizes with varying requirements. Engagement by the Western Development Commission continues with potential corporate clients with a view to building a revenue stream for the Connectedhubs platform.

To date our focus has been to develop a critical mass of hubs on the connectedhubs.ie platform - the focus will shortly shift to raising awareness of the network to relevant stakeholders, including SMEs/business owners, largescale companies and hub users. Work is also ongoing to consult with hub managers across the country in developing the future strategic direction of the National Hub Network.

A significant number of initiatives will be developed in 2022 through the Network including supporting collective engagement between Connected Hubs and large scale employers and supporting collaborative projects in the Network to drive economies of scale.

The development of a National Hubs Network is a key commitment in Our Rural Futureand I am committed to continuing my Department's support for the development of a comprehensive and integrated network of remote working hubs in recognition of the vital role that they can play in our post-Covid recovery.