Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North-West, Fianna Fail)
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2189. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht if funding currently is in place for connected hubs and other not-for-profit work hubs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59998/25]

Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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Our Rural Future, the Government's Rural Development Policy, 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.

The Connected Hubs online platform was launched in May 2021 and is funded by my Department. The platform provides hub owners and customers with a central, easy to use portal that offers and enables the booking of a range of services, particularly professional remote working spaces and meeting rooms. I am glad to report that significant progress has been made towards this target, and that there are now 398 hubs across the country on-boarded to the Connected Hubs platform. Details of all the onboarded hubs are available on the Connected Hubs website.

In April 2021, my Department launched the Connected Hubs Call to support the creation of additional remote working capacity and improve and enhance existing facilities and services and measures to assist hubs to address COVID-19 related challenges. There were two iterations of this scheme implemented. The total cost of the projects funded under the schemes amounted to €14 million.

In addition, the Connected Hubs Voucher Scheme was opened in 2022 to help raise awareness of the Connected Hubs platform and to encourage greater usage of hubs. Approximately 5,550 vouchers were claimed at a cost of €117,600.

I intend to launch the first National Hub Strategy shortly in collaboration with my colleague, Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. This strategy was developed following extensive engagement with relevant stakeholders such as hub managers, local authorities, government departments and agencies. The strategy will present a series of actions to support the future development and sustainability of remote working and enterprise hubs and to increase digital opportunities for local communities across the hub network. In this context it is also of note that the Programme for Government includes a commitment for a further iteration of the Connected Hubs Voucher Scheme.

Finally, funding for remote working facilities will continue to form part of other capital schemes within my Department, such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Scheme (RRDF) and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS).