Mark Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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406. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht his plans to expand the number of remote working hubs in County Kildare under the connected hub network programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38311/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Our Rural Future recognises the opportunity for rural rejuvenation that remote working presents and commits to establishing a comprehensive and integrated national network of 400 remote working hubs by the end of 2025.

There are currently 387 remote and co-working facilities across the country on-boarded to the platform, including nine in County Kildare. Details of all the onboarded hubs are available on www.connectedhubs.ie.

My Department has invested significantly in the establishment and development of hubs through the range of schemes which make up my Department's Rural Development Investment Programme. This includes funding the development of new hubs under schemes such as the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund and LEADER.

In 2021 and 2022 I implemented a new targeted scheme to support the development of facilities in hubs across Ireland. Almost €14 million in funding to some 200 projects was allocated via these 'Connected Hub Calls'. In 2021 €263,500 was allocated in County Kildare from this fund, with €250,000 allocated to the county in 2022. The types of facilities developed under this fund included the provision of additional desk space, privacy booths, technical equipment, meeting facilities and access control.

I am committed to ensuring that the Connected Hubs Network will continue to make a central contribution to the achievement of the Government's vision for rural Ireland, as set out in Our Rural Future.

The programme for Government commits to the further development of the connected hubs network, and I will be publishing the first National Hub Strategy later this year. This strategy will chart out our vision for the future development of remote working and enterprise hubs currently in place in County Kildare and across the country, and ensure a sustainable future for these important assets.