Is remote work the tonic rural life needs?

With broadband rollout remote working can now form part of rural rejuvenation

Minister Heather Humphreys says there are many benefits to remote working, including allowing young people to avail of cheaper house prices in the country. Picture: PA Images

Cork County now has the highest number of broadband connection points (BCPs) of any local authority area.

Part of the National Broadband Plan, these are publicly accessible sites that serve areas without reliable high-speed broadband, including isolated communities in rural areas and many offshore islands.

Meanwhile, the National Broadband Plan State-led intervention to roll out high-speed broadband to 1.1m people is due to be complete by the end of 2026.

BCPs are provided with a high-speed broadband connection available for onsite community use, including for remote work and study.

Across Ireland, 234 BCPs have been completed and are open and serving their local communities.

Of these, 17 are in Cork County, with a further eight planned. Cork City donated its allowance of 12 BCPs to the county.

A comprehensive and integrated network of remote working hubs is also part of the Our Rural Future Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 plan, to make remote working part of rural rejuvenation.

Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys said the Our Rural Future plan also commits to examining the potential to introduce specific incentives to encourage remote workers to relocate to rural areas.

More than €83m has been provided by the Rural and Community Development Department to support the development of digital hubs and remote working facilities. Included are projects that bring vacant properties in town centres, or repurposed existing community or publicly owned buildings in towns and villages, back into use as hubs to facilitate remote working.

When the set-up of 300 BCPs nationally is completed, the Department of Rural and Community Development will develop pilot projects such as supports for remote workers and students, digital skills training courses, arts and culture activities, and eHealth and telemedicine programmes.

Ms Humphreys said remote working was not just a concept or an aspiration.

“Now, because of Covid, it is an everyday working reality for thousands of workers,” Ms Humphreys said. “There are huge opportunities here for regional development. Many major multinational companies have told their staff they can work remotely for the long term and that is very positive.

“There are many benefits, across the board, to remote working. It enables young people to avail of cheaper house prices in the country and less time spent commuting, which is also good for the environment. The reality is if one is an office worker and has good phone and broadband coverage, which is guaranteed in these remote working spaces, one can do the same job.

“There are a number of investments in North-west Cork. There is the Gteic i mBéal Átha an Ghaorthaidh, which got €30,000 for the connected hubs funding there. Macroom enterprise centre got €68,000 and that is just to name a couple,” said the Minister in the Dáil, answering a question from Cork North-West Fianna Fáil TD Aindrias Moynihan.

She said research by the Western Development Commission and NUIG on remote working through the pandemic indicates a significant number of people have already moved to the West.

She advised communities interested in remote working to work with their local authorities.

The National Connected Hubs network platform offers booking and hub management services to hubs, and a National Hub Working Group is in place to ensure hubs provide maximum benefit to local communities.

More than 170 hubs are live on the connectedhubs.ie. platform, including 13 in County Cork, along with 10 in County Clare, 13 in County Kerry, 10 in County Limerick, four in County Tipperary, and four in County Waterford.

Requirements for member hubs include benefit-in-kind contributions to the community, such as discounted access to artists, students or community groups — for example, one hub provides facilities free to local artists for exhibitions.

The National Hub Network can also facilitate a wide range of hub users, from individuals to companies of different sizes.

Many hubs have long-term client companies that take more space as they grow.

Meanwhile, the “hub in the pub” initiative looks at converting pubs during the day to other purposes, such as remote working if high-speed broadband is available.

The Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) have submitted an application for funding to develop a pilot project.

• The locations of planned and completed BCPs may be found at the https://myconnected community.ie/ website.