Time to get ambitious about the potential of remote work

The €8 million investment in digital hubs contained in Budget 2021 illustrates the need for an ambitious remote working strategy for communities and businesses.

The Government has shown through the Programme for Government, through the recent consultation on remote working, and through yesterday’s Budget with €8 million for digital hubs, that it is committed to the concept of remote work.

The promotion of remote and flexible working was a key commitment from Fine Gael before the last election.

Under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, there will be a €5 million investment in facilities for digital hubs and broadband connection points across rural Ireland, aimed at enhancing remote working capability and remote access for students. €3 million is also being allocated for a network of digital hubs to help SMEs modernise and stay connected.

In addition, €30 million is being ringfenced for a call to regional enterprise centres for initiatives to create jobs in every region of the country.

We now need to see a joined-up strategy from businesses to communities if we want long-term choice and change. We cannot miss this opportunity to regenerate and reorganise our towns and villages.

It’s not just about funding hubs, but where we build them and what we build around them. Hubs should foster a community of remote workers similar to workplaces situated in village and town locations making use of vacant premises that are connected by cycleways and sustainable transport, and ideally co-located with community childcare. They can breathe new life and economic opportunities into local urban centres.

One example is social enterprise, Grow Remote, creating a Remote Taskforce for employers to address the current barriers or issues around remote work, like health and safety questions, new management styles, or social isolation. Government policy could be influenced by the outcomes of this work.

E-working tax relief is now being expanded to include broadband. As part of the Interdepartmental group recommendations, this tax relief could be changed to make it easier to apply and more beneficial for people who work from home.

Ken Gaughran