Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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864. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the status of the Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 plan; the plans that are being implemented in relation to same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [4876/22]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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865. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development when a six month progress report on the implementation of Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 will be available considering the commitment to providing this as set out in the strategy considering her previous commitment to publishing this report by the end of 2021 and the strategy launch in March 2021; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5032/22]

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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866. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the current status of the actions set out in the Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 work programme; the status of the completed scheduled actions for 2021; the status of each measure listed in the work programme in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5033/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 864, 865 and 866 together.

Our Rural Future 2021-2025 is the most ambitious rural development policy for Ireland in decades.

It was published in March 2021 and contains more than 150 commitments across the whole-of-Government, for both short-term recovery and longer-term development.

Updates on the implementation of the five-year Policy will be provided by a series of Progress Reports. Annual work programmes allow for priorities to be updated in light of emerging opportunities and challenges.

The First Progress Report, which will incorporate updates on all measures contained in the 2021 Work Programme, is currently being finalised and will be published shortly following Cabinet approval. Further Progress Reports will be produced every six months thereafter, as per the commitment in the Policy.

Work is also ongoing in respect of the 2022 Work Programme, which seeks to continue the substantial progress and momentum established since the policy's launch. It is being developed in conjunction with all relevant departments, and will be completed in the coming weeks.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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867. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development further to Parliamentary Question No. 108 of 7 December 2021, the status of the scoping exercise to progress commitment to the development of a rural- proofing model as set out in the Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 strategy and its accompanying Work Plan for 2021; the status of her Department’s engagement with independent consultants on this issue as previously advised; when the recommendations on approaches to rural-proofing will be published; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5034/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future is the most ambitious and transformational policy for rural development in Ireland for decades.

The policy contains 152 measures for delivery across the whole-of-Government, with the underlying theme of economic, environmental and societal sustainability. The policy has a vision of ensuring vibrant and thriving rural towns and villages, with a key objective to maximise opportunities for individuals, communities and businesses in rural areas. It recognises that rural areas play an integral role in the economic, social and cultural recovery and wellbeing of the country.

The policy commits to developing an effective rural proofing model. This will ensure that all departments fully consider the effects of new proposals on rural communities, the need to better target the particular challenges and opportunities facing rural areas, and to identify impacts that may arise.

My Department has now engaged independent consultants to fully examine the issue of rural proofing in Ireland. Their work will include consideration of rural proofing initiatives internationally so as to inform our approach based on the experiences of others. The consultants are expected to provide their report in late March 2022, presenting a series of recommendations on approaches to rural proofing for my Department to consider.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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868. To ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development the way that she plans to engage and ensure policy coherence with other Departments with regard to enabling those living in rural communities to work remotely particularly with regard to the commitments on remote working as set out in the Our Rural Future: Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 strategy and in consideration of the potential divergence of this goal with the Government’s recent publication of legislation on the right to request remote working and employers having various avenues to deny an employee remote working opportunities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5035/22]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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Our Rural Future clearly recognises the transformative role that remote working can have. One of the key actions which the policy commits to in this regard is establishing a comprehensive and integrated network of 400 remote working hubs over the lifetime of the policy to 2025.

An interdepartmental working group, chaired by the Secretary General of my Department was established in October 2020 to oversee the strategic development of this national hub network. The working group included representation from key Government Departments, State Agencies and relevant public bodies, namely the Department of Rural and Community Development, the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Enterprise Ireland, IDA, Údaras na Gaeltachta and the Western Development Commission.

The first deliverable from the interdepartmental group was to publish a composite national map of remote working hubs across the country by the end of quarter one 2021. In May 2021 I launched the National Connected Hubs network together with the connectedhubs.ie platform. The National Hub Network Working Group initially identified and mapped over 400 remote working hubs. To date, approximately 180 hubs have joined the Connected Hubs platform, with this number rising on an ongoing basis.

The Connected Hubs platform offers a suite of booking and hub management applications to its members. It will also facilitate the sharing of innovation, experience and best practices across the community. These supports will serve to maximise benefit to member hubs, hub clients, employers, local communities and the wider economy.

Last year, through the Connected Hubs funding stream, I awarded close to €9 million in funding to over 100 successful applicants. This allowed for the expansion of remote working infrastructure in digital hubs, including broadband connection points throughout the country. My Department also continues to invest significantly in the development of remote working facilities across the country through schemes such as the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.

A Connected Hubs marketing campaign is currently in the final stages of development and will be launched in the coming weeks. To date, our focus has been to develop a critical mass of hubs on the connecthubs.ie platform, but this will now shift to raising awareness of the network to relevant stakeholders, including SMEs, business owners and hub users.

The right to request remote work is part of the Government's vision to make remote working a permanent feature of Ireland’s workforce in a way that can benefit all – economically, socially and environmentally.This is consistent with the recognition attached to the importance of remote working within Our Rural Future, andthis new legislation will bring us one step closer to making remote working a lasting feature for Ireland’s workforce. This is one of many measures the Government has introduced to incentivise remote working, including the right to disconnect and investment in remote working hubs.

The Government recognises that not all occupations, industries, or particular roles within an enterprise will be appropriate or suitable for remote working. The Right to Request Remote Working Bill will provide employees with a right to request remote work and will provide a legal framework around which requesting, approving or refusing such a request can be based. It will also provide legal clarity to employers on their obligations for dealing with such requests. The intention is to introduce a mechanism for employees to request remote working that is fair but does not place an undue burden on employers.

I am confident that the range of supports and initiatives being implemented across Government Departments will help to ensure that the benefits of remote working are available for workers and employers throughout Ireland.