Galway Bay FM Newsroom - A Galway TD has said that the City is expected to benefit from the development of remote working hubs following the revelation of the Government's national remote working strategy on Friday.
According to the details revealed, legislation will be introduced by the end of September that will entitle employees to request remote working arrangements.
While there will be no automatic entitlement, employers will be required to explain why such arrangements are impossible.
Fine Gael TD for Galway West, Minister Hildegarde Naughton said that the strategy had the potential to transform local economies and the quality of life of thousands of employees in the west.
“The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated exponentially the move towards remote working, and we have responded to that trend by investing in broadband infrastructure and hubs in recent months,” she explained.
“This strategy document is a roadmap for the Government’s plans to embrace and promote remote working through legislation and investment, because it has the potential to transform the way we work and live, as well as heralding exciting benefits for regional economies.”
Minister Naughton said that remote working would reduce or eliminate commuting times and travel costs for workers, thereby decreasing car journeys and air pollution. It would also give workers the option of living further away from their place of employment.
“The trend could see thousands of families settling or remaining in more remote towns and villages across the country instead of having to relocate to within a commuter belt for work. This would breathe life back into rural areas that have seen their populations falling for generations,” she said.
The strategy, ‘Making Remote Work’, also provides for a review of the tax treatment of people who work from home, along with the so-called “right to disconnect”, and a possible acceleration of the National Broadband Plan.
It sets a target for 20 percent of public sector workers to work remotely, and has pledged to deliver on the proposals by the end of this year.
