Naoise Ó Cearúil
Kildare North · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“It was an excellent evening in the French Embassy last night, particularly with Michel Barnier, the Taoiseach and the ambassador. Notwithstanding that, further to the Taoiseach's meeting with Prime Minister Sánchez, it is exciting that there will be an Ireland-Spain joint action plan. When does the Taoiseach plan on finalising this?”
“Europe's task is not simply to embrace AI blindly; it is to shape AI in a way that serves its citizens in their best interests. That means investing in skills, digital literacy, worker protection and innovation. It means ensuring that creative workers, journalists, young people and ordinary citizens are not left behind.”
“A trusted European AI capability could support SMEs, public administration, translation across European languages, healthcare, education, research and democratic resilience. It does not need to be the biggest model in the world to be useful.”
“I will focus on the competitiveness element of the European Council and Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union because this may become one of the most important parts of our Presidency. Europe is at a crossroads.”
“Europe needs to think more seriously and strategically about sovereign AI capability. That does not mean trying to build an EU version of every major American or Chinese model. That is simply not realistic or within our means. However, Europe should not be wholly dependent on models built, controlled and governed elsewhere.”
“Ireland has always understood that the European Union is more than a market; it is a community of values. However, if those values are to endure, Europe must be strong, innovative and competitive.”
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“It was an excellent evening in the French Embassy last night, particularly with Michel Barnier, the Taoiseach and the ambassador. Notwithstanding that, further to the Taoiseach's meeting with Prime Minister Sánchez, it is exciting that there will be an Ireland-Spain joint action plan. When does the Taoiseach plan on finalising this? I know he mentioned that it will include trade, investment and education. When can we start acting on an action plan?”
“It should not be a race to the bottom, particularly when it comes to artificial intelligence. Rather, we should build a stronger, fairer and more confident Europe where our values always ring true.”
“Ireland has always understood that the European Union is more than a market; it is a community of values. However, if those values are to endure, Europe must be strong, innovative and competitive. During our Presidency, Ireland has an opportunity to help make the case for a Europe that, in Enrico Letta's lines, completes the Single Market and, in Mario Draghi's lines, invests in innovation. Ireland should make the case for a Europe that leads in human and value-centred AI and in our overall values, and one that delivers affordable and clean energy and remains open to those who share our democratic future and values. That is the type of competitiveness agenda Ireland should champion. I see that a lot of it is being championed already with the One Europe, One Market roadmap.”
“The Draghi report tells us that Europe must invest, innovate and act with far greater urgency. AI, energy and innovation sit right at the centre of both reports. I will mention enlargement and the accession of Ukraine and Moldova to the European Union. This issue is not entirely separate from the debate around Europe’s future; it is actually part of it. As we are all aware, Ukraine is defending not only its sovereignty but the security and democratic values of our Continent against Russia. Moldova has shown real courage and commitment on its European path. Of course, its future membership will be contingent on a merit-based process and the required reforms being implemented. Its accession would strengthen Europe strategically and politically.”
“A trusted European AI capability could support SMEs, public administration, translation across European languages, healthcare, education, research and democratic resilience. It does not need to be the biggest model in the world to be useful. It just needs to be secure, trustworthy, affordable and, most importantly, aligned with our values in the European Union. Digital sovereignty should not mean isolation, however. It should mean choice. While Europe does not need to build every AI model, it should not find itself, as it has in the past, in the position where it cannot choose, or is dependent on, systems not under its control or remit. That is where the Letta and Draghi reports come together. The Letta report tells us that Europe must remove the barriers that stop businesses and ideas from scaling across the Single Market.”
“Europe needs to think more seriously and strategically about sovereign AI capability. That does not mean trying to build an EU version of every major American or Chinese model. That is simply not realistic or within our means. However, Europe should not be wholly dependent on models built, controlled and governed elsewhere. As we have seen with Anthropic, such models can be switched off at the drop of a hat. There is a strong case for Europe to work with trusted, democratic partners, such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, to develop AI systems that reflect our values. While these models may not compete with the newest frontier models from the United States or China, they could deliver the majority of the AI benefits to European citizens, businesses and public services.”
“Europe's task is not simply to embrace AI blindly; it is to shape AI in a way that serves its citizens in their best interests. That means investing in skills, digital literacy, worker protection and innovation. It means ensuring that creative workers, journalists, young people and ordinary citizens are not left behind. It is also means recognising that AI is now an energy issue. Data centres and AI infrastructure require significant electricity. We cannot allow the digital transformation of Europe to come at the cost of higher bills for households or less capacity for communities. Affordable, clean and reliable energy must be treated as central to European competitiveness. If Europe wants to lead on AI, advanced manufacturing and innovation, as outlined in the Draghi report, then energy policy is linked with industrial policy.”
“Mario Draghi's report is even more direct. It tells us that Europe is falling behind on productivity, innovation and scale and we need to act with far greater urgency. Ireland should use its Presidency not just to manage that agenda but to help shape it. Indeed, the Taoiseach has mentioned the focus on the one Europe, one market agenda. Artificial intelligence is a good example of the opportunity and the challenge. AI can support healthcare, education, research, public services and small businesses. It can help improve productivity and help Europe compete but we have to be honest as well. It raises serious questions about jobs, creative work, journalism, young people, copyright, democracy and the energy required to power these systems.”
“I will focus on the competitiveness element of the European Council and Ireland's Presidency of the Council of the European Union because this may become one of the most important parts of our Presidency. Europe is at a crossroads. We face an uncertain geopolitical environment, slower growth, pressure on households and businesses and a technological transformation that is moving faster than our institutions are used to and what they have been built to do. In that context, competitiveness is not just an economic issue; it is about Europe's security, resilience and ability to shape its own future. Two reports have helped frame this debate. Enrico Letta's report asked Europe to complete and deepen the Single Market, particularly in areas such as capital, energy, digital infrastructure and telecommunications.”
“There has been a significant increase in the population in Naas and the Department of education has requested St. Corban's national school in Naas to increase its enrolment for September by an additional 25 students. The school is more than happy to do so. It applied for a grant for furniture and it has a classroom ready. However, the Department will not allocate a teacher. It is only allocating 19 teachers when the school needs 20. The Department needs to allocate an additional teacher to ensure the 25 children have a school place in September. I would appreciate the Minister, Deputy Chambers, liaising with the line Minister and the Department on this.”
“The Minister of State has engaged constructively, openly and in good faith and I want to acknowledge that. This is a strong Bill, made stronger by dialogue. As it moves through these final Stages and into the work of implementation, I look forward to continuing to work with the Minister of State and my colleagues on the committee to ensure it delivers for the people we all serve. I commend the Minister of State on bringing the Bill forward. Finally, on a procedural piece, we received the Bill on Friday and amendments were to be in by Tuesday. That was extremely time-limiting. We should review it in future because a significant piece of legislation takes significant reading to identify where there are issues. If that could be looked at, I would appreciate it.”
“I welcome the Minister of State's confirmation that this power is limited and constrained and that it does not extend to the key adjudicative functions, the findings of the adjudicator, the determination of administrative sanctions or the role of the courts. That is an important safeguard. The Minister of State spoke here already about the area of trust. We need to ensure that trust in this office is built up and that we can trust what is coming out of the office, the chief executive of the office and the board, notwithstanding some of the points that colleagues have made about board composition and expertise. I believe this Bill will play a significant role in our preparedness for the technological changes we are seeing develop at a rapid pace and want to see it succeed, as I think we all do.”
“I welcome the Minister of State's agreement that this resourcing is vital, the funding provided in 2026 to establish the office and her assurance that where additional resources are needed, they can be met through the normal Estimates process. The Act comes into force on a phased basis out to December 2028 and that gives us time to get it right. Monitoring resourcing across all the designated authorities as those phases are rolled out is crucial because a framework is only ever as strong as the bodies that deliver it. I would also ask about the independence of the office, which other colleagues have raised this evening and previously, given that the Minister of State has the power to issue policy directions.”
“I welcome the Minister of State's assurance that the office will be actively responsible for co-ordinating the relevant competent authorities, that it will support joint investigation and enforcement and that it is already building practical protocols through workshops and a co-operation forum. That is reassuring. As Cathaoirleach of the Oireachtas committee on AI, I will follow how that co-ordination works in practice with great interest and see how implementation proceeds. Indeed, we will do that as a committee to ensure that it is working. On resourcing, I had stressed that Article 73 of the AI Act requires our competent authorities to have adequate technical, financial and human resources.”
“I am genuinely pleased that in her reply, the Minister of State confirmed that oifig intleacht shaorga na hÉireann is to be designate as a market surveillance authority through an amendment to the designated regulations that are being finalised. The Minister of State might inform us in her response when those designated regulations will be finalised and whether they could be shared with members of the AI committee and, indeed, with the House. It is a significant and welcome clarification. It gives the office real standing and ensures our framework is firmly aligned with the Act. I also raised a question of co-ordination between the 15 authorities that will share this work and the role of the co-operation agreements under section 63.”
“The Minister of State wrote to me responding directly to all of the concerns that I had raised. That is how good legislation should be made, with genuine engagement. There has been genuine engagement with the Minister of State in that regard and it speaks well of her stewardship of the Bill. I particularly welcome the Minister of State's response on the single point of contact. Colleagues have raised it here. I raised it here on Second Stage and it relates to whether our single point of contact will sit comfortably with Article 72, which provides that the contact point should be a market surveillance authority.”
“It was only by chance that I was in a committee next door, the environment and energy committee, and saw that it was happening and managed to go in. The reality of the situation, and particularly this point about rushing through legislation, is that when Government is not passing legislation, it is accused of being a do-nothing Government. When it does pass legislation, it is accused of rushing legislation. There has been talk of the AI Bill for a long time now. The other reality of the situation that people are failing to recognise is that the AI office needs to be stood up by August. There are timelines here that put pressure on Government and, indeed, on the Minister of State to get this passed. I thank the Minister of State. On Second Stage here this day last week, I would like to think I was constructive rather than critical.”
“Gabhaim buíochas as an deis labhairt ar an mBille seo inniú. As Chair of the AI committee, I think there is some frustration around it. It is mostly procedural. In fairness, the enterprise committee is the statutory committee and it is for that reason that the scheme of the Bill went there for pre-legislative scrutiny. If there was a way that any future Bills or primary legislation would come to the AI committee, that would be extremely helpful because, as colleagues across the House have said, the AI committee has developed an expertise there. What is frustrating is that the AI committee members were not informed when the scheme of the Bill was being presented at the enterprise committee for pre-legislative scrutiny.”
“A few weeks ago, we saw the AI company, Claude, switching off its Fable and Mythos models after engagement with the US Government. We are particularly vulnerable in Ireland because many of the public services are aligned with, and using, Microsoft and Copilot, which is AI software. There is a fear that something like what I have mentioned could happen with the likes of Microsoft in the future. I am not saying it will but it could. What we need to be considering from a European perspective, and I ask that the Taoiseach consider this during the EU Presidency, is the development of sovereign AI between the EU, Canada and the UK, with which we have shared values. That is a way we can move forward on artificial intelligence, particularly in a European context.”
“I look forward to working with the Minister and my colleagues across the House and on the AI committee on Committee Stage, and to making the Bill even stronger.”
“The Bill provides for funding of the office but it is quieter on the capacity of the sectoral authorities that will carry out the enforcement on the ground. Again, I will bring an amendment for regular reports to this House on the resourcing of those designated authorities, which goes beyond the Minister of State's remit and, obviously, to the competent authorities. I will add one further point. Section 9 provides that the office is independent while section 11 allows the Minister to direct it. I simply ask that, as the Bill progresses, we ensure such directions can never reach the operational or investigative judgment of the office. I offer all of this in genuine partnership. This is a welcome and important Bill and I want to see it enacted and working well for the people we serve.”
“Co-operation across several authorities and the Central Bank depends, under section 63, on voluntary co-operation agreements, and section 63(8) provides that a failure to comply with such an agreement does not invalidate the exercise of any power. Co-operation is welcome, but co-ordination that rests only on goodwill can become co-ordination on paper. Again, I will bring an amendment to provide a modest backstop so that where authorities overlap or a gap appears between them, there is a clear means to resolve it rather than hoping they agree it between themselves. The third concern for resourcing is that Article 73 of the AI Act requires our competent authorities to have adequate technical, financial and human resources.”
“Those powers rest with the designated sectoral authorities. I understand the logic of a distributed model and there is much to be said for drawing on the deep expertise of our existing regulators but there is a risk that the body the public will see as the national AI regulator will have no power of its own to act. There is a related point in section 42, which states, "The Office is designated as the single point of contact", yet Article 72 of the AI Act provides that the single point of contact is to be a market surveillance authority. I will bring an amendment to clarify the office's mandate in order that it can co-ordinate with real authority and our single point of contact will sit comfortably with Article 72. I would welcome the Minister of State's thoughts on that as well. The second concerns co-ordination.”
“I welcome that the Bill names our fundamental rights bodies in section 53 with the Data Protection Commissioner, IHREC, Coimisiún na Meán and An Coimisiún Toghcháin among them, with a clear route to test high-risk systems. So, the foundations are strong and I support this Bill. I rise not to oppose it but to help strengthen it. In that collaborative spirit, there will be a need for some amendments, in my opinion, on Committee Stage and I want to set out some of those that I believe the Minister of State and her officials should be considering, and that we will consider, on Committee Stage with this House. The first concerns the office itself. Under section 9, it is provided that Oifig Intleachta Shaorga na hÉireann co-ordinates, advises and promotes but it does not investigate, inspect or enforce.”
“The establishment of Oifig Intleachta Shaorga na hÉireann will give us, for the first time, a national home for AI co-ordination, literacy and public awareness. The regulatory sandbox and the real-world testing provisions in Part 3 are genuinely pro-innovation and they give smaller Irish companies and start-ups a supervised path to develop responsibly. That balance of safeguarding people while supporting innovation is exactly the balance we should strike. I also welcome the careful enforcement process in Parts 5 and 6 with proper notice, the right to make representations and appeals to District Court and confirmation of fines by the High Court. This is firm but fair and it respects due process.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as an mBille seo a thabhairt os comhair na Dála. I welcome this Bill and want to start by commending the Minister of State and her officials on the considerable work behind it. As a member of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence, I have watched this framework take shape and I want to state clearly that its arrival is good news. It puts our implementation of the EU AI Act on a proper statutory footing and it does so at a moment when certainty matters. The Act requires member states to have their market surveillance authorities, MSAs, in place by August 2025 and the high-risk rules apply from August this year. Businesses, public bodies and citizens have been waiting for this clarity and this Bill begins to deliver it. There is a great deal to welcome.”
“Pride, as I said at the beginning, is a celebration, but it is also a call to action. I believe that this House working together can honour both.”
“I have friends in same-sex marriages with children and they face difficulties day in day out, in terms of recognition. That needs to be prioritised by the Minister for justice. The third area is safety and confidence in reporting. Too many people still feel unsafe in public spaces or are reluctant to report harassment or hate crime. Strengthening community policing, which has worked well in a lot of other areas, improving reporting mechanisms and building trust between communities and the State are essential if we are to ensure that every person feels protected. As we mark Pride, let us recommit to the work ahead. Let us ensure our workplaces our respectful, our public services inclusive and our society one in which every person, regardless of who they are or whom they love, can thrive.”
“Strengthening teacher training, embedding inclusive curriculums and ensuring that every school is a welcoming environment must remain priorities for both the Department of education and the Department of further and higher education. The second area is healthcare and mental health supports. LGBTQI+ people continue to face barriers in accessing appropriate care and many report negative experiences when seeking support. Improving cultural competency across the health service, expanding mental health supports and ensuring timely access to gender-affirming care are all vital steps in building a system that serves everyone fairly. Surrogacy has been commented on here on a number of occasions this afternoon, as has the full commencement of the 2024 Act. That must proceed.”
“The Government is committed to building a safe, fair and inclusive society for all and the national LGBTQI+ inclusion strategy provides a whole-of-government framework to advance equality. Its vision is clear: a society where LGBTQI+ people can live safe, healthy and fulfilling lives, and participate fully in every aspect of Irish life. The accompanying 2025 to 2026 action plan sets out concrete deliverables across safety, rights, protections, health and well-being. From an inclusion perspective there are several areas where continued focus is essential. The first area is education. Young LGBTQI+ people deserve to feel safe, supported and respected in their schools, be that primary, secondary or third level. We know that early experiences of exclusion or bullying can have long-lasting impacts.”
“The marriage equality referendum in 2015, which many people here were involved in, was another defining moment, not just legally but culturally. It demonstrated that the Irish people believe in fairness, dignity and the right of every person to live and love openly. However, progress does not mean that the challenges have disappeared - far from it. Recent data have shown that 22% of people in Ireland have experienced discrimination in the past few years. For LGBTQI+ communities, the figures are significantly higher; 59% of gay and lesbian people, 55% of bisexual people and 46% of trans and non-binary people report discrimination. The workplace remains the most common setting for harassment and exclusion. These numbers are stark and they reflect lived experiences that we cannot ignore.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak today as we mark Pride and reflect on the progress we have made as a country and, more importantly, the work that still lays ahead. I want to acknowledge my friends, family members and, indeed, colleagues here this afternoon as we mark Pride. It has been said here a few times already but Pride is not just a celebration; it is a restatement or statement of values. It reminds us that equality is something we must continue to advance, protect and, indeed, demand. Ireland's journey over the past three decades has been remarkable. In fairness, it has been slow but it has happened. The decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993 was a foundation of reform that opened the door to a more equal society.”
“The Government prioritised critical infrastructure in the last budget and we are seeing the benefits of that in Kildare with water infrastructure. However, the management of the projects by Uisce Éireann is extremely poor from traffic to water outages. There have been particular issues in Celbridge, Maynooth, Leixlip and north east Kildare. The difficulty I and communities face involves holding Uisce Éireann accountable around timelines and particularly around traffic and water outages. What can we do in relation to Uisce Éireann because its responses take weeks and if we are fortunate, days. There needs to be more accountability from Irish Water, particularly on these specific projects.”
“We need to review how people with rare diseases, and people with diseases that are not that rare, access drugs in this country.”
“We are a small nation with a population of just over 5 million people and a small market to these pharmaceutical companies, but when we combine that with all of Europe, particularly when a lot of these drugs are being approved from European bases, we need to use that strength in numbers to ensure the access for people with these rare diseases. There is a bigger issue in Ireland when it comes to access to drugs. The long-term illness scheme has not been updated since the 1970s. I appreciate the costs that are involved in this, however, if we look at permanent anaphylaxis, for example, young children and adults who need access to EpiPens cannot get them. This is something that we really need to review, particularly when it comes to long-term illnesses.”
“This something that the Government and the HSE must prioritise, particularly its corporate pharmaceutical unit because, as other Deputies have said, time is something that these families do not have in abundance, and we need to ensure that these types of medications are in the hands of families to ensure that they can limit the impacts of these particular rare diseases. One thing that frustrates most people is the process and the time that it takes. We welcome the review into how rare diseases are dealt with. Deputy Barry Ward has already spoken about the need for a single European market when it comes to accessing drugs for rare diseases, and it is something that I was going to speak about. It makes sense.”
“First, I want to pay tribute to the parents and families of young boys with Duchenne muscular dystrophy who have campaigned for access to givinostat. I commend them for their work, and I also acknowledge the work of colleagues in this House, such as Senators Teresa Costello and Anne Rabbitte, and Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan, for their work in driving this from a parliamentary perspective. I also acknowledge the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health for their engagement as well. Many people in the House today have already spoken about the positive news that we got regarding givinostat. However, we are still waiting for that good news when it comes to skyclarys in relation to Friedreich's ataxia.”
“I welcome the progress made to date in relation to the national digital and AI strategy, with the 20 objectives and the 90 deliverables. Things such as the AI skilling platform, AI Ready, are already up and running. We have seen progress made with the regulatory sandbox and the AI office, which is due to open in August. There are a lot of competing demands here and a lot of priorities, including some that are crucial and time sensitive. Are there specific action items, with times aligned to them, in relation to the plan over the next 12 months? I appreciate it runs until 2030, but some elements will need to be completed sooner rather than later.”
“There needs to be a lot more done in terms of how they are regulated and how they answer not only to this House, but to the Garda and international police forces around the world, because if a complaint goes in, it can take weeks for any type of response. Meanwhile, that content has in some instances gone viral or stayed up and traumatised people. There is a far bigger responsibility. We need to be doing more in this House to hold the large tech companies, and particularly the AI companies, to task for what they are and are not doing to protect people. That is a crucial element as well. In fairness, the Bill goes a long way to protecting the individual identity that I mentioned previously. I will work with Deputy Byrne in terms of progressing this legislation. I commend him on this and give him my full support.”
“That does not mean that we stand still. AI is changing quickly, and sometimes it is quite frustrating how slow Parliament here and, indeed, parliaments around the world operate. If we were to get to grips with the fast-changing element of artificial intelligence, then it should not be that First Stage of Deputy Byrne's Bill was in January of last year and in June 2026, nearly a year and a half later, we are discussing it on Second Stage and then moving on to Committee Stage. This is the type of time-sensitive issue where we need to find a method within this House to move legislation more quickly. Deputy Ó Snodaigh spoke about the large tech and AI companies.”
“While the Minister of State outlined that the EU AI Act covered a lot of ground in terms of various issues, such as how AI interacted with people and generated synthetic content and how it was used for emotional recognition and biometric categorisation, it does not cover the issue of the misuse of people's images, voices and likenesses. The Bill is crucial and key to getting to grips with and coming to terms with that. We all will be aware of the transformative impact that AI is having but there need to be guardrails. We have seen a lot of misuse of AI and we have to do as much as possible in terms of the regulation of artificial intelligence. While the EU AI Act has been passed, the general scheme of the AI regulation Bill here is progressing through the House. The national AI office will be established by August of this year.”
“If we think of an older or elderly parent getting a call on a Saturday night that a son or daughter is in trouble, needs help, needs money or whatever it may be, and that call has been made through nefarious means, it is something that everybody fears, particularly if you look at the exploitation of older people when it comes to financial issues. Those are critical, as are people's music, art and entire identities. As the world is becoming more international, our individual identity is far more important to us than ever before. That includes our likenesses, namely, how we look and sound. Our likenesses being advantage of is something that we need to tackle head on.”
“We will discuss it then, ideally at the artificial intelligence committee as well as the justice committee. Progressing this legislation is critical in terms of getting to grips with the misuse of artificial intelligence, not only in Irish society, but globally. If it were to be progressed in the Houses, this could be an example of best practice to other countries, showing them how to do it. Deputy Byrne has covered most of the issues, as has Deputy Ó Snodaigh. I do not want to go over them too much.”
“I also join in congratulating the Minister of State, Deputy Ardagh, on her appointment and wish her the very best as she takes on this important and challenging role. First of all, I commend Deputy Byrne and thank him for continuing with this legislation. Deputy Byrne had this on First Stage in April 2025. If we think of how far AI has developed in that time, this legislation is needed now more than ever before. Let us think back to 2025. Deputy Byrne introduced this Bill on First Stage and the entire Grok controversy arose at the end of 2025 leading into this year. Had his Bill been enacted, a lot of the concerns that we have seen might not have arisen, particularly around Grok and different nudification apps. It shows the importance of this legislation. Obviously, it needs to be discussed on Committee Stage.”
“Most important, it is a workers' issue, to protect workers in society. Deputy Malcolm Byrne spoke about the various historical jobs that no longer exist. Some administrative jobs will no longer exist but people who work in administration in a law firm, for example, could manage the AI software or become a data analyst. It is reskilling in the job and the State has, and should have, a role to contribute, but so should employers. That is critical for the future of workers.”
“Springboard courses and Skillnet courses are available. These are all courses happening, particularly for people looking to learn more about AI. Where we fall short is in workers in situ . I spoke about this as a Topical Issue matter this morning. The Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, was here when I spoke about it. I have developed a policy and programme and a pilot for that programme under which people would be retrained and reskilled within their roles if their jobs are at risk, if there is a risk of that job being removed. That ensures we protect workers in the jobs they are in, rather than them losing them. It is not just a higher education and skills issue. It is a Department of enterprise issue and a Department of Social Protection issue because it goes across all of society.”
“Thinking of a changing world, many of us this afternoon are speaking about AI, and rightly so. However, in Ireland the changing world also means an increase in population and an ageing population. Thankfully, we have the National Training Fund and €650 million of that is for healthcare training. In my hometown, Maynooth, for example, there is now a school of nursing helping to tackle the issue of not having enough healthcare staff across the country and particularly in the eastern region. That is extremely welcome. On artificial intelligence, many colleagues have spoken about the initiatives taken by the Government thus far, particularly by the Minister, Deputy James Lawless, my constituency colleague, including the launch of aiready.ie two weeks ago and how that is improving and helping people. Some 45 micro qualifications are ready.”
“I reiterate that this is about protecting workers. People are losing their jobs. Families across the country and in Kildare are worried. I am trying to be as proactive and future focused as possible.”
“Retraining and reskilling will be a huge part of that, but there are many skills that cannot be trained, particularly as people have been working in roles that now no longer exist. It is not just about the Department of further and higher education; this is primarily an issue for the Departments of enterprise and Social Protection. What I have laid out in the programme details how this can happen in the long term, but also, importantly, the programme sets out the terms for a pilot scheme for financial and customer services within the next three years involving 1,000 workers. That scheme would show that it can work, and it has been costed. Again, this is about protecting people. If it is a success in those sectors, which international examples have shown are the most vulnerable, then it should be expanded to the entire workforce.”
“The roadmap for technology skills of the future, the statement of ambition on digital and AI skills, AI micro credentials and the online platform AI Ready, which was only launched two weeks ago, are all great, particularly in the context of skills. This is not a skill issue, however; this is a worker's issue. It is about stopping people losing their jobs or retaining the jobs they currently hold. Reskilling and retraining are needed within places of employment when a notification is given that there will be a reduction in the workforce. This is primarily to protect workers. There is no doubt about the fact that we are on the crest of a huge change regarding employment and workers' rights in this country. We have to do all that is possible in that regard.”