Senator calls for more remote working hubs in North Dublin

A Fingal Senator has highlighted the demand for remote-working hubs to cater for “the exponential growth” of towns and villages in North County Dublin.

Senator Regina Doherty of Fine Gael said that Fingal is one of the fastest-growing regions in Ireland, with Census results showing a population increase of 7.6% compared to 2016 figures.

She said the results showed pointed to an “exponential” growth of Balbriggan and Swords in particular, which are notably two of Ireland’s youngest towns in terms of the mean age of people living there.

“We are also seeing rapid growth of housing estates in towns like Lusk. Often hailed as the “gateway to Dublin”, we know that the North County is home to an enormous commuting population,” she said.

“At a time, post-pandemic, when we are seeking to promote work/life balance through the facilitation of remote working, the demographics of our region point to a demand for more remote working hubs in Fingal. Last year in particular, Fingal County Council led the way on this front through its support for the Connected Hubs initiative, as well as groups like GrowRemote.”

“I have written to John Quinlivan, Fingal’s Director of Economic, Enterprise, Tourism & Cultural Development, to ask that he consider carrying out a survey to assess the needs of workers across Fingal, and the level of demand for more remote working hubs in our area.”

“Should the results of that survey suggest a significant demand for remote working hubs – which I believe there to be –there are a number of vacant buildings in the North County that would be ideal for remote working hubs,” pointing to the old Credit Union building in Donabate, Ballisk House as an example of a remote working hub.

“I would also call on the Council to identify suitable existing sites in our towns and villages to locate new remote working hubs,” she added.