Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 February 2026
1275. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if the next Our Rural Future strategy will include remote employer engagement, community programmes and remote working as a skill, and be specified as a named delivery mechanism, with a target for jobs landed in rural and regional areas all across Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12804/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Programme for Government includes a commitment to publish and implement a new Our Rural Future policy from 2026. The process of developing this successor policy is well advanced.
The new Our Rural Future is being informed by an extensive consultation process which has seen more than 2,000 individuals, community groups and stakeholder organisations input, via an online survey, in-person workshops and in response to a published policy paper, into the development of the policy.
Remote working featured strongly in the first Our Rural Future. For example, over the lifetime of the policy my department has delivered significant capital investment in remote working facilities and established the Connected Hubs network. I am happy to confirm that the target of 400 hubs set out in Our Rural Future for the connected hubs network has now been exceeded.
The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, who has policy responsibility both for remote working and jobs, has overseen delivery of actions featured in the 2021 National Remote Work Strategy. This has included legislating for the right of all workers to request a remote working arrangement through the Work Life Balance Act 2023 and the introduction of an enhanced income tax deduction for people working from home.
Our recent consultations in relation to the new Our Rural Future have reinforced the significant opportunity remote working presents for creating a more inclusive labour market, enabling enhanced access to high-quality employment opportunities for workers in their home communities.
The Programme for Government, Securing Ireland’s Future, re-affirms this commitment to promoting flexible working arrangements that benefit both workers and employers, and the new Our Rural Future policy will continue to invest in the transformational potential of remote working for rural areas.
Actions for delivery are currently being developed with relevant government departments and agencies, including the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, and Enterprise Ireland, and I am confident that remote and hybrid working will continue to play an important role for people all across the country in the coming years.
