A series of new initiatives to support remote working are due to be announced by the Government later on Wednesday. They include giving remote workers free use of their local digital hub through a Connected Hubs Voucher Scheme.
At least 10,000 hot desk spaces will be provided under the scheme, which is aimed at both existing users as well as those accessing hub facilities for the first time. It will initially provide three days of hub use per person between now and the end of August.
Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys is also due to announce €5 million in funding towards building and enhancing 81 remote working facilities throughout the country.
[ Full list of remote working hubs available around the countryOpens in new window ]
Ms Humphreys is also announcing the provision of €50,000 in funding to each local authority under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
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The money will be used to fund marketing campaigns and promote local remote working opportunities. There are currently 242 remote working facilities across the country.
Ms Humphreys has said she is “serious” about ensuring “we don’t simply revert to the ‘old normal’ – the way of life we had before Covid-19″.
“When I meet remote workers across the country, they tell me all about the benefits of spending a few days each week working from a digital hub in their local community,” she said.
“They talk about how their lives are improved now that they don’t have to embark on that early morning, gruelling commute to Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway or other urban centres.
”Remote working has been a game-changer for thousands of people. It’s given people of all ages a better quality of life – allowing them to spend more time with their family friends, working within their local town or village.”
