'Turn empty community halls in Limerick into coworking spaces'

IN A letter to the editor, Mike Gleeson writes how empty community halls could be turned into coworking spaces.

"From my own experience and reports in various media outlets I have noticed the numbers of people now working from home in rural areas. This situation is not expected to change in the foreseeable future.

Working from home is a great idea but it does present with some issues. Trying to perform commercial tasks on a domestic broadband supply is difficult especially if you have more than one person relying on it. It is also very difficult to separate working from home from domestic responsibilities and after a time the person really misses the social contact of working in a group.

In order to help with these issues I would look to the meeting rooms and community halls (empty during the day). These could be made available for 'hot desk' use on perhaps an hourly charge. Not many people would need a full 9 to 5 service and the only infrastructure required would be a power outlet, broadband outlet and a desk or table.

Lots of towns and villages have fibre broadband availability, the only cost to national / local government would probably be the hook up to the broadband service and perhaps some perspex screens between desks.

Benefits

The benefits of such a scheme are many and are significant.

1. An income for the community organisations.

2. Reliable broadband access for that important zoom call, interview or online exam.

3. Social interaction between service users. Important for mental health.

4. Increased footfall in rural towns and villages - a plus for shops, cafes and restaurants.

5. A great sense of communities doing it for themselves.

Al it needs is someone to champion the idea and it will be a success."

Mike Gleeson,

Kilteely-Dromkeen