Cavan Digital Hub along with Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys and Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Richard Bruton today hosted a consultation forum on remote working.

The event, which was attended by enterprise, academia, policymakers and relevant interest groups, included a keynote address from Ben Wainwright of Abodoo.

The Forum was undertaken as part of Future Jobs Ireland, the whole-of-Government plan to prepare Irish business and workers for the future. The aim of the forum was to provide key insights for a new piece of research on remote working, which will ultimately feed into new Government policy in the area. 

The research will seek to understand the prevalence and types of remote working arrangements within the Irish workforce, the attitudes towards such arrangements, and the factors which influence employers and employees to partake in such arrangements.

Pillar 4 of Future Jobs Ireland is focused on increasing participation in the labour force. The Government believes flexible working solutions, such as remote working, could improve labour market participation, particularly among parents with young children, as well as those with caring responsibilities, older people and people with disabilities.

Under this Pillar, further actions are being progressed, including the provision of affordable childcare services and improving incentives to participate in the labour force.

Discussing the benefits of remote working, Minister Humphreys said, "The world of work is changing and technological and digital advances present us with new opportunities, particularly in rural Ireland. Remote working can breathe life into our towns and villages right across the country by allowing people to work and live where they’re from. It can also take pressure off our cities and bring environmental benefits with reduced commuting times."

Source: www.businessworld.ie