A new remote working hub with the capacity to cater for 18 people will open in Carrigart later this month.
The project, ‘gteic@Carraig Airt’, has been developed by Donegal County Council in partnership with local community organisation Moving Mevagh Forward.
It will be housed in a new single storey facility on the village’s Main Street.
As well as high speed broadband, the unit will have a meeting room, a canteen and bicycle parking.
The vision for the hub is that it will act as a catalyst to bring people home to the Rosguill peninsula from all over Ireland and abroad. Those behind it also believe it will encourage people to relocate from more urban locations to the parish of Mevagh.
Minister for Rural Development Heather Humphreys is expected to announce gteic@Carraig Airt’s official opening in the next fortnight.
Ahead of the opening former education minister Joe McHugh TD said it would assist greatly the many people who either moved back home or bought property in the area during the pandemic.
Deputy McHugh said, “There has been a massive culture change in terms of the world of work and locally a lot of people have bought houses in this area. As well as that we have seen a huge number of people move back to work from home.
“Looking at the statistics, people have expressed a desire for a hybrid model, two days in the office and a few days working closer to home. This facility will be able to accommodate that.
“As well as that, this is a big tourist destination. Predominantly over the last 30 or 40 years it has been people from the north who own mobile homes but in more recent times we have seen more people from down the country. This is an opportunity for them too in that if they want, they can work one or two days per week while still holidaying in the area.
“That will have a hugely positive knock-on impact for the businesses and services in the Carrigart and Downings areas.”
There are now almost 250 digital working hubs across the state, all designed to cut out the long commute to Ireland’s major cities. But questions have been asked around what will become of the facilities if employers start demanding that workers return to their offices.
In an effort to encourage a greater uptake the government last month announced a series of new initiatives including a voucher scheme that will give workers free access to their local digital stations.
Joe McHugh TD believes the new hub will be a success, short term and in the long term.
Joe McHugh said he believed Donegal’s hubs will continue to be successful, even after the pandemic.
“During Covid and since, we have seen a lot of people change jobs,” said Deputy McHugh.
“In the medium to long term an employer becomes reliant on employee expertise and the last thing they want is to lose that. So the reality is that if they want to hold on to that, employers are going to have facilitate employees with a lot more flexibility.”
“I’m not talking about Dublin or Chicago here, I’m talking about someone living for example in Carrigart or Gaoth Dobhair but who works in Letterkenny. With the price of fuel going up, rather than driving 30 or 40 miles, the employee will be able to use their local hub.
“Employers, if they want to keep workers and if they want to hold on to that employee loyalty, they are going to have be more flexible.”
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