10. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of small and medium enterprises, SMEs, that have successfully applied for and received funding through the digital transition fund since its inception; the total amount disbursed to date; the steps his Department is taking to raise awareness about these digital support programmes among SMEs, particularly those that may be less digitally savvy; and given the goal of achieving 90% of SMEs at basic digital intensity by 2030, what additional measures his Department is considering to accelerate digital adoption among Irish businesses. [6682/25]

Sentiment score: 0.25

How many SMEs have successfully applied for and received funding through the digital transition fund since its inception? What is the total amount disbursed so far? What steps is the Department taking to raise awareness of these digital support programmes amount SMEs, particularly those that may be less digitally savvy? In light of the goal of achieving 90% of SMEs at basic digital intensity by 2030, what additional measures is the Department considering to accelerate digital adoption among Irish businesses?

Sentiment score: 0.22

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit, agus déanaim comhghairdeas léi on her recent appointment. I thank her for the very informative, worthwhile and important debate we had yesterday on this area, particularly around artificial intelligence. What specific metrics is the Department using to measure the impact of the digital transition fund on SMEs, particularly in respect of their digital competitiveness? As we know, technology is moving very quickly. As we discussed yesterday, a lot of this is due to changes in AI and changes brought about by AI. Clearly, the fund is strategically very important and I hope there are plans to extend it beyond its expiry date in 2026. Will the Minister confirm whether this fund will continue beyond that date?

Sentiment score: 0.31

I thank the Minister of State and very much welcome her commitment to the digitalisation of SMEs. I note that the fund is linked to the EU recovery and resilience facility and that this facility is not planned to be continued beyond 2026. It is vital that we in some way delink ourselves from that facility and that we continue to fund the vital growth of digitalisation within Irish SMEs. As we discussed yesterday during the very useful debate on AI, Ireland can and very much should be a leader in this space. It can only really achieve that status if we fund it correctly and give it the status it deserves.

Sentiment score: 0.40