There was government presence in Athlone on Friday morning last as Minister for Rural and Community Development, Deputy Heather Humphreys, launched the inaugural National Hub Summit, at the Sheraton Hotel.
The Summit in Athlone brought together businesses, hub managers and policy makers, less than 18 months after the launch of the Connected Hubs platform.
As part of a series of announcements, Minister Humphreys confirmed:
·The number of remote working facilities registered with Connectedhubs.ie will pass the 300 mark
· More than 10,000 remote workers will have registered with the platform by the end of the year
· Each local authority outside of Dublin has been given a special budget to promote their county in order to attract remote workers and mobile talent
· A new pilot scheme that will match employers and employees to specific hubs will be launched in 2023
· The pilot scheme will introduce the concept of ‘anchor tenants’ and the use of Connected Hubs as a ‘second workplace’ for staff
· More than 5,500 free hot-desk days have been provided in 2022 alone
· The Voucher Scheme, which provides three free taster days to remote workers, has been extended until the end of the year
Speaking at the opening of the Summit, Minister Humphreys stated that remote working was now an “everyday reality” for a strong section of the country’s workforce.
“It’s hard to believe that less than three years ago, Remote working was nothing short of a concept in Ireland. It’s now an everyday reality for thousands of workers and businesses, across this State.
“We have made extraordinary strides in terms of remote working. My Department alone has invested over €100 million in developing state-of-the-art remote working facilities in every county in Ireland.
“The number of facilities on board ‘Connectedhubs.ie’ is now set to hit the 300 mark. Many of these are old courthouses, garda stations, schools and other vacant or derelict buildings that have been re-purposed and are now central to the remote working revolution.
“Today’s summit is about bringing all the key stakeholders together - the hub users, remote workers themselves, policy makers, Government agencies and most importantly, businesses.
“Today’s gives us a chance to discuss what next? We have done a lot in just 18 months, but what more can we do in 2023 to ensure remote working continues to thrive and support people to live and work from their own community?
“My Department, along with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, are developing a new national hub strategy and pilot scheme which places businesses at the core.
“It will involve new concepts such as ‘anchor tenants’, allowing corporations to form arrangements with the hub managers to make the remote working facility a ‘second workplace’ and our voucher scheme, which gives people a ‘three day taster’, has been a great success.
“On top of all these initiatives too, we have given funding of up to €50,000 to local authorities outside of Dublin so that they can market their towns and villages as destinations for people who want to move to Rural Ireland.
“So much is being done across Government to ensure remote working is central to the future development of our society and economy, but we can do more and can do things differently and that’s why this National summit is so important.”
“I want to explore the idea of encouraging companies to provide a stipend to remote workers to cover the costs associated with using the hub and I have asked my officials to explore new options to incentivise remote workers to join ‘Connected Hubs’ and reap the benefits,” Minister Humphreys said.
While in Athlone, the Minister visited the ACT co-working hub in Parnell Square where she officially opened the facility now to be known as the ‘Michael Fuery Hub’ in memory of the late former manager of Athlone Community Development Association.
