14. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the most recent EU leaders’ meeting or Council. [45026/26]

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It has been reported that Ireland has signed a memorandum of understanding, MOU, with the French Government around the purchase of military hardware and the training of Irish soldiers by the French army. I understand this may include the location of French soldiers and military hardware in Ireland. I understand it is to aid interoperability between the two armies. There are major concerns the MOU will limit future procurement competition and therefore push up prices, and there are also concerns as to whether this MOU seeks to provide French military cover to Ireland. We have already tied ourselves into British military cover in our skies and seas. Many in Europe see the west coast of Ireland as a weakness in military defence-----

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-----and the location of French planes here could reduce mobilisation time for the French. Will the Taoiseach address these concerns?

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It is not just radar.

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There are other military vehicles included in the-----

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34. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the revised national digital and AI strategy. [45027/26]

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Social media is robbing childhood from many young children. It is putting enormous pressure on children, isolating them and creating situations where there is 24-hour bullying. This is leading to all sorts of distortions in relation to children’s understanding of the world. One suggestion I made to the Taoiseach previously was for the Government to seek to ban the purchase of smartphones by those under 16. That would be far easier to implement. It would not completely erase the challenge of the issue, but it would significantly mitigate it. In terms of AI, we have a real problem. The Government is too uncritical of AI. AI is leading to the loss of potentially hundreds of thousands of jobs in this country, stealing the creativity of authors, creating a massive demand for energy, putting downward pressure on cognitive ability in education, and putting enormous power in the hands of a few wealthy oligarchs. We need far more global regulation of this enormous power.

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Nine euro socks.

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The Taoiseach is having a laugh now.

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How could Deputy Ó Murchú miss these words?

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Local regulation.

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