I congratulate Deputy Bennett. It is lovely to say "Deputy Bennett", having worked with her and known her well in Monaghan County Council. I am sure they are all incredibly proud of her down there. Well done. My Department is the national competent authority with responsibility for export controls, including controls on defence-related exports and export of dual-use goods. Controls on the export of dual-use items are administered by my Department in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliament and of the Council setting up a Union regime for the control of exports, brokering, technical assistance, transit and transfer of dual-use items. In 2023, there were seven licences issued with an end destination of Israel with a total maximum value of €1.14 million in quarter three and three licences were issued with a total value of €31.24 million in quarter four. In 2024, there were seven licences issued with a total value of €1.18 million in quarter one, ten licences with a total value of €20.59 million issued in quarter two, six licences issued with a total value of €8.57 million in quarter three and six licences issued with a total value of €33.93 million in quarter four. So far in quarter one 2025, three licences have been issued with a total value of just under €427,000. The bulk of dual-use exports from Ireland, including those to Israel, are mainstream business ICT products, both hardware and software, such as networking, data storage and cybersecurity, etc. They are categorised as dual-use items as a consequence of the fact that they incorporate strong encryption for ICT security purposes. My officials carry out an assessment of all applications, which includes a series of checks to ensure, as far as possible, that the item to be exported will be used by the stated end-user for the stated end-use and will not be used for illegal purposes.
Sentiment score: 0.39
I assure the Deputy, even though I have only been in the Department for a couple of weeks, that, working with the Minister, Deputy Burke, we are sure and we have very strong controls in place. As part of their assessment, my officials seek the views of the Department of Foreign Affairs in respect of all applications for export licences, including those with the end destination of Israel. Both my Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs review all dual-use export licence applications against the eight assessment criteria set out in the Council common position. If there are any concerns that the goods exported will not be used for the end use or by the specified end user as detailed in the application or if the exporter does not provide enough information on the intended end-use for my officials to make an informed decision, the application for a licence is denied. In applying any export controls in a robust and transparent way, my Department ensures that legitimate business transactions by reputable Irish traders are not damaged in any way while also ensuring that exports of controlled goods are thoroughly risk-assessed in that context of ongoing conflicts, diversion of goods and humanitarian considerations.
Sentiment score: 0.27
I thank the Deputies for their questions. They are very legitimate questions to ask. I am assured by the Departments - our own Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs - that they do a really robust risk assessment around those applications. If the officials are not confident or have any question marks over them, they refuse those licences.
Sentiment score: 0.05
I do not but I will get that for the Deputy. I will get a detailed written reply on the issues the Deputies have raised. In fact, I might ask the Department to have a conversation with the Deputies on the legitimate questions they have raised today.
Sentiment score: 0.00
My Department established the digital transition fund as part of Ireland's national recovery and resilience plan with the objective of driving the digital transformation of enterprise in Ireland. The Minister, Deputy Burke, spoke earlier about the drive that is being made by the Department to ensure all businesses across Ireland reach those targets. The fund was specifically designed to aid the achievement of the high-level workstreams of Ireland’s national digital strategy, Harnessing Digital, and Ireland’s contribution to the EU digital decade targets as they relate to digitalisation of enterprise. The target set out in the national digital strategy is that at least 800 businesses will be supported by 2026 under the digital transition fund. Good progress has been made towards achieving this target and, as of the end of 2024, a total of 539 companies have been approved for €45.2 million in funding for direct grant supports under the digital transition fund, of which 504 are SMEs. A total of 195 companies, of which 189 are SMEs, have already received funding to the value of €12.9 million. My Department, together with the enterprise agencies, continues to make concerted efforts to raise awareness amongst businesses of the opportunities arising from digitalisation and the help that is available to them to assist them in digitalising their businesses. This was the rationale for the development of the grow digital portal, which my Department launched last summer. The portal provides businesses with a toolkit to help identify the opportunities that digitalisation offers them and points to the supports available to them. It has a case study catalogue with digital success stories showcasing examples of how traditional and locally trading businesses have embraced digital solutions to boost their operations. This is particularly important to help those less digitally savvy businesses.
Sentiment score: 0.45
I thank the Deputy very much for his kind wishes and also for his important question. There is a range of supports to help businesses in digitalisation available under the digital transition fund through Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta. In addition, the LEOs offer digitalisation supports for eligible businesses, including the digital for business initiative and the grow digital voucher. These direct-to-company supports are complemented by Ireland’s four European digital innovation hubs. These hubs serve as one-stop shops for businesses, providing access to technical expertise, innovation services and skills development. Ireland is one of the most advanced EU member states in terms of digitalisation of enterprise and I am determined to maintain this leadership position. I believe we have the required range of supports in place to help our SME base to digitalise. However, awareness-raising and demystification of digital adoption is an ongoing task that is essential if we are to meet our 2030 target of 90% of SMEs at basic digital intensity.
Sentiment score: 0.50
I thank Deputy Brennan for his remarks. I take on board everything he said. As he pointed out, we had a very robust discussion yesterday on AI and how that is impacting businesses globally, not just nationally. I take his point on board. As the Minister, Deputy Burke, stated, there is a drive to bring all businesses into the digitalisation era and a commitment to have 90% of SMEs there by 2030. It is a big task but the Department and the Minister have put so many measures in place that it is hoped we can reach that target.
Sentiment score: 0.28
I thank Deputy Moynihan for the question and for his very kind comments. A refresh of Ireland's national AI strategy was published in November 2024. It takes account of the significant developments in AI technology and regulation that have happened since the 2021 strategy. The national AI strategy sets out a whole-of-government approach to putting the necessary enablers in place to underpin AI adoption in enterprise and public services, including a supportive innovation ecosystem, a secure data and connectivity infrastructure and policies to ensure the workforce is prepared for the impact of Al. My Department has a particular focus on delivering on the actions that relate to enterprise digitalisation and AI adoption, guardrails and building public trust. We are focused on driving AI adoption in small businesses with targeted supports through our agencies. Issues such as privacy, security and job displacement are just a few of the challenges that come with the increasing use of AI. It is crucial that we address these concerns proactively and work to ensure that AI is used for the betterment of society. That is why building public trust and putting the appropriate guardrails in place is a priority focus. I note in particular the aggressive timeline for implementation of the EU AI Act, which we are prioritising. We met the first deadlines on identifying national public authorities which supervise or enforce the respect of obligations under Union law protecting fundamental rights, including the right to non-discrimination in relation to certain high-risk uses of AI systems specified in the Act. As Al is a rapidly evolving technology, we will continue to review and refresh the strategy on a periodic basis.
Sentiment score: 0.39
I again thank the Deputy for his interest in this area. We had a very good and robust debate last night on AI and its positives. We must always be cautious about the introduction of something like this technology. It is like the revolution of the Internet. We got that first and we were able to do it. This new technology, though, is going to be completely different because I think it is going to impact every aspect of our lives, from public transport to healthcare to education. Every walk of life will be impacted in some way. The Department itself is doing a great deal of work in terms of the schemes it is running. When I say that, I think about the CeADAR centre, which is out in UCD. It is a source of skills where a type of induction training can be provided to AI and apps to give people an insight into those areas. I am going to see if we could bring some of that into the Oireachtas to give our Members an opportunity to see how we could perhaps do a better job using AI in our constituency offices and things like that. There are many benefits to AI, but we are also conscious of the negatives to the technology. It is a balancing act, but the Department is doing everything it can to bring the population with it in terms of the introduction of AI.
Sentiment score: 0.29
I thank the Deputies for the broad range of those questions. The number of supplementary questions just goes to demonstrate the interest there is in AI and how it is going to revolutionise everything we do. The advisory council was raised by colleagues. It was established in January 2024. I had the pleasure of meeting its members and their leader, Dr. Patricia Scanlon, last week. All those council members are experts in their fields. Different industries are represented in the council, from legal to healthcare to technology to education and all of that. It is important to take a moment to thank those members of the advisory council for their work. It is completely voluntary and is to advise the Department and the Government. They are all experts in their fields. I thank them all very much. Turning to the question about our LEOs, they could of course do a great deal in tapping into our SME business sector. All those working in those small and medium businesses are totally immersed in and committed to the job they are doing and generally do not have time or the capacity to focus on a new departure. Our local authorities will work with LEOs along with the Department, which is currently giving lots of grants and vouchers for digital growth to try to support businesses to do that. On the question about the committee, it is a very good idea to have a committee set up around this. Maybe it could be part of one of the other committees, but AI will be a very important issue in this Dáil term.
Sentiment score: 0.32