The interdepartmental group has had its first meeting which I attended as I wanted to show the importance that I place in ensuring that we grasp this opportunity. As the Deputy and I are aware, remote working was a concept and aspiration this time last year. In fact there was a Cabinet meeting that was specifically looking at jobs and a big part of that was trying to get companies and people interested in remote working. Covid-19 has given us this opportunity which we really need to grasp and run with to ensure tha…

I thank the Deputy. My Department estimates that there is likely to be in excess of 350 hubs in operation across the country. Validating the number of hubs is one of the first tasks of the interdepartmental group which, as I said, is being chaired by the Secretary General of my Department. A number of other Departments are involved in that group. This group will focus on collecting the data on the number of hubs that are in operation and it will be building a composite map of networks. This work is expected to be c…

I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The current 2014- 2020 LEADER programme will come to an end this year. Under the seven-year programme, €168.7 million was allocated to the local action groups, LAGs, which deliver the programme at local level, for project approvals up to 31 December 2020. As of November, 3,530 projects with a value of over €139 million have been approved for LEADER funding by the LAGs. A further 341 projects requesting over €21 million in funding are at various stages in the approval proc…

I thank the Deputy. It is important to say first that there will be a transitional programme but there are many projects and therefore the LEADER companies will be very busy over the next year or year and a half in terms of finishing the projects. They have until the end of this year to make the further announcements. In terms of the figures, there are 3,500 projects approved to a value of €139 million. A further 341 projects are requesting more than €21 million in funding and they are at various stages in the appr…

No. I got an extra €4 million in my baseline. The budget for LEADER for 2020 was €40 million. There is an extra €4 million in the baseline for next year. There is a total of €44 million available next year to fund existing projects and to develop a transition programme.

To clarify for the Deputy, funding is provided for 2021. That assumption is incorrect. There is €44 million in the budget for 2021. That €44 million will be used to fund existing LEADER commitments and provide for a transitional programme. The current LEADER programme comes to an end in December this year, but due to delays in agreeing the Common Agricultural Policy and the budget at EU level, the programme will not commence until 2022 at the earliest. The Government has committed to prioritising a transitional pro…

We have a transition plan.

There is no uncertainty.

Can I be very clear?

I appreciate the Deputy is being told that because I see the letters that have been sent out to everybody.

That is why there are so many questions on the LEADER programme coming up today. I am very happy to answer them.

There is no uncertainty. First, they do not stop announcing projects until the end of this year so they can continue to announce projects. As I said, there are approximately 3,000 projects and they have plenty of work to do for the next year and a half. Some 3,500 core projects are approved to the value of €139 million. A further 341 projects requesting €21 million in funding are at various stages of the approval process. They have not been completed yet. On the payment side, 1,800 project promoters have now receiv…

For the third time, €44 million has been made available for next year to pay for existing projects and for a new transitional programme. In a number of weeks, I will be issuing a new transitional programme, following consultation with the stakeholders. The local development companies do really good work on the ground. I engage with them in my other Department, the Department of Social Protection. They roll out a number of projects on its behalf. I am going to carry out a full review of the success of the current LE…

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. The increased shift to remote work in the past six months as a result of Covid-19 has given us the opportunity to reimagine the possibilities for a greater regional distribution of jobs and to support better quality of life for many who previously spent many hours on long commutes. Remote working has the potential to transform rural areas, allowing people to build careers in good-quality jobs while continuing to live closer to home. It also provides an opportunity for thos…

We will have 200 broadband connection points rolled out before the end of this year, and the remaining 100 or so will be rolled out by the first half of next year. We are rolling them out as quickly as possible. The way it works is that the broadband officer in the local authority identifies certain communities that have poor-quality broadband. We have worked with Vodafone and National Broadband Ireland to install high-speed broadband in the relevant community centres. I now have the funding. I want to make sure th…

I take the Deputy's point on where there are gaps in coverage along roads. This is being examined under the national broadband plan. The types of areas in question are identified as areas that need attention.

The local authorities are certainly working with communities across the country. They are happy to work further with them. If there are other connection points that we need to consider, I will be happy to work with the local authorities in that regard and get feedback from them. Let me state what the €5 million is for. We need a mapping exercise because we need to find out where all the hubs are and account for the broadband connection points. There are all sorts of names in use, including "co-working spaces" and "…

I agree. For that reason, there will be a focus on remote working under the rural development plan. Co-working is better because people need social interaction. I have already spoken to the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Deputy Michael McGrath, about co-working spaces specifically designed for public servants so that they can go to towns with facilities that have been kitted out with, for example, the right Internet connections and IT security, and are good work environments. Public servants could have…

I have discussed this matter with the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath. He and I are committed to working on this initiative so that public servants can access good-quality facilities in locations across the country. It is the right thing to do. It will help towns and villages that are crying out for workers to revitalise them.

Go raibh maith ag an Deputy for raising this issue. As she will be aware, the pier on Inis Meáin is listed among the capital development projects referenced in the national development plan. To date, approximately €14 million has been spent on the project's first two phases. Users of the pier, including a number of State-subsidised ferry operators, have highlighted issues with capacity at the harbour as well as with currents around the harbour mouth. I understand that the next step is for Galway County Council to r…