Ardee councillor says government have let down Louth commuters

Councillor John Sheridan has said Louth commuters who wish to work remotely, including from their homes, have been let down by a "damp squib" government announcement last week in relation to remote working.

Cllr Sheridan said that the government has announced the set up of an interdepartmental group to investigate remote working, "but there really was no other commitments of substance that this government is taking this policy seriously."

"It was an opportunity for this government to outline what concrete plans were being considered," said the Fianna Fáil councillor in a statement, "but really the announcement was just that a committee is being set up to spend more time to come up with suggestions that ultimately delay anything being done to help local commuters."

"I've been campaigning on this issue for some time that we need to invest in allowing people work from home or from community eHubs," explained the Ardee councillor.

"I think allowing people work at home as an alternative to commuting is something Louth can champion and Louth will be the better for it."

Cllr Sheridan said that "the government announced the setting up of an interdepartmental group with much fanfare but there seems to be very little detail as to what is actually going to be done.

"The more people who can reduce the number of days they commute is better for those workers, their families and is ultimately better for the environment. 60% of people surveyed as part of the government research pointed to the work life balance benefits of programmes such as this."

He continued:

"In September, I had a motion passed at Louth County Council supporting the concept of eHubs. There already are centres in Louth village,  Dundalk, Drogheda and the council have said they are hoping to set up one in Ardee soon.

"These are welcomed, but we must also support people to work in their actual home with proper broadband particularly in rural areas."

"As every knows, the M1 has become a daily conveyor belt of commuting, many to office jobs which can be done from home anyway. Some solutions may be in the form of tax relief to employers and employees for the installation of equipment in the home."