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Ensuring ultra-fast broadband and offering grants and tax breaks for people who want to live in small towns and villages are among the main pillars of the Government’s plan to reverse generations of depopulation and decline in rural Ireland.
Several ministers described the plan as “transformative” during its launch at Croke Park in Dublin on Monday, and Communications Minister Eamon Ryan said it was the most important change for rural Ireland since the decades-long electrification plan that brought electric power to every home. in the state.
At the center of the plan are policies to encourage workers to stay and move to rural Ireland by the thousands.
The government plans to have 400 high-speed broadband remote work facilities across the state; have 20 percent of the public service working remotely; and a concerted campaign to encourage people to settle in city and town centers, rather than isolated dwellings, under a € 1 billion city policy.
Among the most striking initiatives are a plan to use rural pubs as centers during the day and a new law that will give employees the right to request to work from home.
Details of individual financial packages will not be released until the October budget.
About a third of Ireland’s population lives in rural Ireland, which increases by half when all rural towns and cities with populations greater than 1,500 are taken into account.
Regional imbalance
Speaking at the launch, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the plan would address the regional imbalance.
“The Government’s vision is a rural Ireland that is an integral part of our national economic, social, cultural and environmental well-being and development,” he said.
When asked why there were no costs associated with the plan, Rural Development Minister Heather Humphreys said it was an overarching strategy that was creating opportunities.
“For decades we have seen global trends in which young people are leaving their local communities to live and work in larger cities. As we emerge from Covid-19, we will never have a better chance to reverse that longstanding trend.
“The move to telecommuting, supported by the implementation of the National Broadband Plan, has the potential to transform rural Ireland like never before.
“It will allow people to work from their own local communities, revitalize our urban centers, reduce travel times, reduce transportation emissions and, most importantly, improve the quality of life for our people,” he said.
When asked when the 400 broadband hubs and co-working spaces would be delivered, he said specific dates had not yet been set.
She said she has spoken to the Irish Vintners Federation about the use of rural pubs, many of which have not been open during the week for some years, as community centers during the day and they responded positively.
Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said that many workers would return to offices after the Covid-19 pandemic and that they might be “happy to do so.”
Mixed work
However, he said that combined work would become the norm. He said that working from home several days a week would reduce travel time and emissions from transportation.
Ryan said the broadband plan will be completed within seven years and also emphasized just transition as a key part of the strategy.
The government’s investment in climate action will bring new job opportunities to rural communities, in areas such as renewable energy, modernization, and sustainable agriculture and tourism, he said.
When asked about the broadband plan, Ryan said 196,000 homes had been surveyed, 290 broadband hotspots installed across the state, and 70,000 homes would have broadband connection by the end of the year, primarily in Cavan and Cork.
The four ministers noted the potential of the green economy, such as renewable energy and tourism. They referred to the popularity of greenways. Ms. Humphreys pointed to adventure travel.
Another action of the strategy is to develop “dark skies” tourism, where people can see the night sky with a minimum of light pollution.
Varadkar said the current development plan foresees an additional 200,000 people living in rural Ireland by 2040.
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