*Photograph: Eamon Ward
Clare is “way ahead of the curve” when it comes to remote working, the Minister for Rural and Community Development has said.
Speaking during her tour of Co Clare on Thursday, Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys (FG) commended the manner in which the county has capitalised on the potential for remote working.
Minister Humphreys officially opened the new digital hubs in Cross and Ennis as well as launching the new DigiClare strategy. She also visited the Vandeleur Walled Gardens in Kilrush, Kilmihil’s People Park, the Lissycasey Community Amenity Area and Cnoc na Gaoithe Comhaltas Cultural Centre in Tulla.
Cathaoirleach of Clare County Council, Cllr PJ Ryan (IND) quipped in Cross that when he told friends in Cratloe the night before he would be with the Minister for the day that they responded that she was “the Minister with the quare accent”.
With the Bishop of the Killaloe Diocese, Fintan Monahan and several Government officials present in Cross, Cllr Gabriel Keating (FG) remarked that the West Clare parish brought Church and State together again, “the sun shone in Cross for a Church and State celebration,” he told The Clare Echo.
Close to €4m was invested into the Ennis hub which is also the home of the Civil Defence. It is now one of ten digital hubs in the county and houses pods to enable smaller enterprises to work in an office setting at much cheaper rates.
Clare County Council’s broadband officer, Urban McMahon was commended by Minister Humphreys during the visit. “I was delighted to launch the strategy DigiClare and to see their ambition and what they have invested in terms of a remote working hub. Clare is way ahead of the curve, they had a vision a number of years ago, long before remote working became a reality and they have been investing in remote working spaces, they have ten remote working hubs and that is quite a lot for the county, it is great that they are available, I got to visit hubs on the west coast, people were coming down on their holidays and staying in Clare for three or four months at a time because they were able to work remotely, that is a huge boost to the local economy”.
Every opportunity in Clare has been grasped when it comes to remote working, Minister Humphreys told The Clare Echo. “The fact that we have these facilities in Clare means that young people might be able to choose Clare as a place to come to work, live and raise a family. Remote working is going to change rural Ireland I believe, it will breathe new life back into it and it will increase the footfall in our towns through the co-working spaces, we have invested in a lot of remote working hubs and repurposed old buildings”.
