FINANCE Minister Conor Murphy was in Enniskillen recently to meet business people, politicians and Council representatives to discuss a range of issues facing the town.

On his final engagement of his visit on August 18, Minister Murphy was in the Townhall to give local representatives – including Fermanagh and Omagh District Council’s Chair and Chief Executive – an update on plans for a Civil Service hub in the area.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter following the meeting, Minister Murphy said he believes the creation of a regional hub in Fermanagh will attract more people to jobs in the Civil Service from the county, and will give them the opportunity to strike the right work/life balance.

He said: “In a number of towns right across the North – Enniskillen is one of them – we’re trying to create facilities for people who have to travel five days a week to Belfast to work in Civil Service jobs [that they] can have a facility here, [so] that they can spend a number of days a week working from here.

“Not only will that reduce their travel time, and I suppose congestion in and around Belfast, but we intend to place those [Civil Service hubs] as close as we can to town centres, so that they can make an economic contribution by working here a number of days a week.”

Mr. Murphy went on to explain how this new way of working will hopefully see more people from the county take up jobs in the Civil Service, with such flexible working arrangements.

“I think in the longer term it will actually make for more accessible jobs in the Civil Service, because I’m sure there are people in Co. Fermanagh who don’t apply for jobs because they’re based in Belfast.

“That lengthy commute, five days a week, is something which puts people off, and won’t give them an opportunity for the type of home/life balance that you need in terms of employment.”

The Finance Minster added that they were looking at the possibility of locating these hubs at Council facilities, and this would strengthen the engagement between regional and local government which will be a “benefit for Enniskillen”.

Commenting on the meeting, a Council spokesperson said: “The Vice-Chair of the Council, Councillor Chris McCaffrey, welcomed the Minister to Enniskillen.

“He, and the Chief Executive, provided the Minister and the other elected members in attendance with an overview of the Council’s work with the Department of Finance in progressing the regional hubs for the district, which has made provision for the establishment of a hub in both Omagh and Enniskillen.

“The meeting was very constructive and builds further on the good relationships between the Council and Central Government, in this case, the Department of Finance.”

Speaking after facilitating the meeting between Minister Murphy and the Council, Sinn Féin MLA Jemma Dolan vowed to continue to work with Mr. Murphy and Council officials to ensure a regional hub is delivered in Fermanagh.

She said: “I want to ensure this project is kept high on the agenda, and is delivered in a timely fashion.

“These regional hubs will transform how civil servants work, enabling them to be based closer to home, reducing travel time and lowering carbon emissions.”

Miss Dolan said the Enniskillen hub project is planned for 2023, and she does not want to see this timeline slipping.

She added: “The economic benefits of this can not be overstated for Enniskillen and Fermanagh. For years, Civil Service jobs have been hemorrhaging from the county. This regional hub will halt that.”