I thank Deputy Ó Cearúil for raising this very important issue. I recognise his strong work on it and on developing a national AI workplace transition programme and leading out on it in the context of meeting with employers, unions and the relevant Ministers. The Deputy's work within the political system has been pioneering in relation to this matter. It is appropriate that we are discussing it here in the Dáil this morning. This is something that will have to take up much more Government and Oireachtas time in the period ahead in the context of ensuring that we respond to this challenge and that we are at the forefront when it comes to making sure it is used positively and to the benefit of the public. We must also ensure that our policies reflect an approach that harnesses AI in this way. As the Deputy will know, in the first instance, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is the appropriate lead for issues of skilling, reskilling and upskilling of the workforce to navigate the impacts of potential job displacement due to the adoption of Al technologies. I am taking this matter on his behalf this morning,. I know the Deputy has been liaising closely with him and his officials on this issue and on his policy proposal. The digitalisation of the economy and society and the adoption of AI are among the largest structural forces shaping our country. The Government is committed to driving our digital agenda and to Ireland remaining a digital leader at the heart of Europe and globally. Accordingly, Digital Ireland was published on 18 February. The latter is the national digital and Al strategy. It sets an ambition for Ireland to be a global hub for applied Al innovation. It also renews the Government's commitments to inclusion and accessibility to ensure that no one is left behind in this digital and Al revolution. Research published by the Departments of Finance and Enterprise, Tourism and Employment shows that Ireland is relatively more exposed than other advanced economies. In line with this finding, Digital Ireland seeks to support workers to navigate and mitigate the impacts of potential job displacement, including through agile, responsive and accessible skills supports. The Government recently held its first national skills round table, marking the beginning of a national programme of high-level engagements focused on ensuring Ireland has the right skills for a rapidly changing economy. This will include a series of sector-specific meetings with employers and industry representative bodies to gain deeper insight into priority skills needs. Officials within the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science are currently developing a statement of ambition, which will focus on digital skills including Al skills, and a roadmap for technology skills for the future, which will be the successor to Technology Skills 2022. The Department is also developing a national skills observatory. It is intended to have the observatory in place by year end. The observatory will have several functions, including monitoring labour market trends and emerging skills needs, which will support Ireland's responsiveness to education and training systems. Regarding recent developments, last month saw the launch of the AI Ready platform. The latter will support early inclusive skills development, an approach strongly reinforced by ESRI and Central Bank research on Al, skills and labour market disruption. SOLAS and the educational training boards, ETBs, have developed short flexible courses, including micro-qualifications focused on Al awareness, applied skills and career transition opportunities. Higher education institutions continue to deliver a wide range of specialist and foundational digital skills programmes, including micro-credentials, through initiatives such as Springboard+. These are complemented by the work of Skillnet Ireland, which continues to deliver enterprise-led upskilling opportunities that are aligned with industry needs.

Sentiment score: 0.30

I acknowledge the relevance of the proposal and policy approach the Deputy has put forward. The Government has to focus on seeing how we can ensure workers are retained within companies. That is absolutely the Deputy's focus. The Government obviously takes the need to retrain and reskill people seriously. I have already outlined on behalf of the Minister for further and higher education the different steps being taken, whether it is the roadmap for technology skills for the future, the statement of ambition on digital and AI skills, the AI micro-qualifications developed by SOLAS or the online platform AI Ready, which is focused on trying to make sure the skills and retraining is provided from Government and all our agencies. The approach Deputy Ó Cearúil is taking goes to the nub of where we need be in order to try to address this challenge. Certainly, he has been doing a lot of work on this with the officials, the Minister, Deputy Lawless, and the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth. I will engage with them in relation to this debate and on the importance of working with the Deputy on the policy proposal he has put forward. I again acknowledge the Deputy's advocacy and leadership within the political system with regard to the importance of addressing this matter and putting forward tangible proposals as to how that can be achieved. It is very important from a Government perspective that our Departments engage with him to take that on board and, collectively, to try to address something that is evolving rapidly. I agree with the Deputy that our objective has to be how we protect workers during the transition. Obviously, AI has massive potential to be of benefit, but it has to be something that we ensure we harness for the good of wider society in a way that improves people's quality of life. To achieve that, we have to make sure that employment is maintained, that people have jobs to go to and that AI adds to productivity and the good things we, as a society, experience . Crucial to that is that jobs are protected in the process. The Deputy's policy proposal very much aims to address that. I will relay the points he made to the Minister.

Sentiment score: 0.35

I thank Deputy O'Gorman for raising this issue. I join with him in recognising the distress the tenants are experiencing as a result of this very traumatic event, and also recognise his advocacy on their behalf, as well as the very stressful situation they remain in as a result of no longer being in their apartments. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for housing and the Department of housing. The Deputy raised a number of very pertinent and urgent questions in his contribution and I certainly will ask the Department to revert directly to him to have them answered. The Minister was also concerned to learn of the fire at the Auburn Park apartments last week, and likewise he very much appreciates the distress experienced by the residents and the families affected by the fire. The role of the Department of housing is to ensure a framework of policy, legislation and funding is provided to ensure housing authorities are in a position to address homelessness at a local level. Statutory responsibility for the provision and co-ordination of emergency accommodation rests with the local authorities and in this instance it is the responsibility of Fingal County Council to assess individual needs and deliver supports on the ground, including housing needs assessments, the provision of emergency accommodation and any homelessness supports required for residents affected. The local authority will work with other agencies such as the Dublin Fire Brigade, the Department of Social Protection, the HSE and approved housing bodies, where appropriate, to ensure all necessary supports are put in place. I assure the Deputy on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Browne and the Department of housing that they will continue to support Fingal County Council with the funding necessary to ensure that residents of Auburn Park are supported in accessing housing assistance where appropriate in the weeks ahead. This year, more than €563 million has been allocated to homeless services, ensuring that local authorities such as Fingal County Council have the resources required to respond rapidly to situations like this. This includes more than €513 million in current funding to ensure local authorities can provide emergency accommodation, homelessness prevention and tenancy sustainment services to households experiencing or at risk of homelessness and that these households in emergency accommodation are supported to exit homelessness as quickly as possible. The focus is on ensuring rapid access to emergency accommodation, followed by wrap-around supports and pathways back into secure housing. Supporting individuals and families facing homelessness is a key priority for both the Minister and the Government and prevention of homelessness in the first instance is an absolute priority. There are many prevention initiatives already under way in the Department and across Government, and this includes the provision of social affordable housing, housing assistance payments, HAP, and homeless HAP, and our strong tenancy protection legislation. Increased supply is key to addressing homelessness and the Government is investing significantly in that aspect. I know Deputy O'Gorman’s particular question is in relation to the need for urgent support for the residents of the Auburn Park apartments and the very distressing situation they find themselves in. Fingal County Council will be liaising closely with them along with the Department of housing, and its response today makes it clear that from a funding point of view it stands ready to work with Fingal County Council and other agencies in relation to trying to support residents and work through this particular challenging situation. The questions the Deputy has raised are very pertinent for residents in relation to the obligations from the owners of the apartments to them. On the legal questions he posed in relation to what those obligations are, I will ask the Department to revert directly to him with those answers. Again I share concern regarding the really difficult situation these residents find themselves in, and recognise the importance of everyone within the State and all of our agencies working to support them through this difficult period.

Sentiment score: 0.23

I assure Deputy O'Gorman that I will immediately relay this back to the Minister for housing and his Department and ask them to respond directly to the Deputy in relation to the really important questions he has posed. I understand the real stress that affected residents are experiencing, where they are not clear on what the situation is or the obligations for support to them when the provision of hotel accommodation runs out tomorrow and the immediate challenge that will arise for them. In regard to landlords, it is important that there is legal clarity in relation to what their obligations are. It would be important to see that accommodation be available again as quickly as possible when repairs have been carried out in the context of the different levels of damage there would be to each apartment. I have no doubt that for most of the residents, their objective is, if at all possible, to be back in their apartments as quickly as they possibly can. There is the short-term and interim piece in relation to how they are supported through this. The obligations of the apartment owner in relation to that, which are going to be important, require that clarity. From the point of view of the State, Fingal County Council and State agencies working to support them in the interim period is also important. I will ask the Department and the Minister to revert directly to the Deputy on the questions he has raised.

Sentiment score: 0.14

I thank Deputy Brennan for raising this matter. I have been asked to respond to him on behalf of the Minister for Transport on the issues he has raised here. Storm Chandra, as the Deputy outlined, brought severe winds, prolonged heavy rain and extensive flooding across multiple regions of the country. It caused significant disruption to our regional and local roads and communities, with the intense rainfall leading to several rivers bursting their banks and extensive surface flooding. More than 120 roads were rendered impassable and over 400 were reported to be significantly damaged. The local authorities in counties Wicklow and Wexford, among others, reported high levels of damage and the need for the provision of additional funding to remediate it. The Government is committed to continuing to protect our regional and local roads network. This is known to be fundamental in connecting our people and communities and facilitates access to business, education and healthcare, as well as the provision of other critical services. Our regional and local road network spans over 96,000 km, and each local authority is statutorily responsible for the maintenance and improvement of the regional and local roads within their area of responsibility. All work undertaken is funded from their own resources and supplemented by the regional and local roads grant programme operated by the Department of Transport. It is also the role of local authorities to prioritise the investment in and work on their regional and local roads. The funding provided via the regional and local roads grant programme is intended to supplement realistic contributions from each local authority. It is also advised that each local authority sets aside a contingency from its allocation from the Department of Transport and its own resources for severe weather events that might take place. Allocations from this grant programme were communicated to local authorities on 17 February. In total, €718 million was made available this year to eligible local authorities for their regional and local roads. This was an increase in funding on 2025 and facilitated an increase of €26 million for road protection and renewal works. Because of the pressures on the regional and local road network, the primary focus for capital investment under the regional and local road grant programme is on the maintenance and renewal of the network, the implementation of the strategic regional and local road projects identified for development - subject to necessary approvals - in the national development plan and targeted minor safety schemes across the regional and local road network. Wexford County Council was allocated over €23 million, with the majority of this amount determined to be spent on the protection and renewal of County Wexford’s regional and local road network. Wicklow County Council was allocated almost €15 million, again for protection and renewal. In both cases, the allocation for 2026 was higher than that of 2025. The Department of Transport's grant funding for regional and local roads is determined on as equitable a basis as possible to eligible local authorities. This is based on the length of the road network in the local authority area. The Department has liaised with those local authorities impacted by Storm Chandra to assess the damage and remediation needed. Means to address the additional costs to local authorities are under consideration. The most pertinent part of the reply is the last couple of lines, which indicate that means to address the additional costs for local authorities are under consideration. The Deputy outlined very clearly the asks from Wicklow and Wexford County Councils and the specifics in relation to the damage done to both counties. I recall that, thankfully, my part of the country, for once, escaped the brunt of this but it was quite acute in those counties. I remember seeing the scenes at the time and the damage that still pertains from that can be very much seen, as the Deputy outlined. Certainly, after the Deputy raising it here today, I will relay his frustration in relation to the fact that there is not an answer yet on the request for additional funding. The Department is indicating that it is under consideration. Obviously, while it is under consideration, the roads remain to be fixed in some instances. That is something that the Deputy is very keen to have addressed. I will relay that back to the Department and ask it to follow up promptly with the Deputy and with the county councils in Wicklow and Wexford to bring this matter to a conclusion.

Sentiment score: 0.08

I understand the challenging situation in which everyone in the Deputy's county finds themselves and, indeed, the challenge that presents for its Deputies as public representatives as well to seek to address and have this remedied. The reply that I have given on behalf of the Department of Transport and the Minister outlines the funding that was provided this year, namely, €23 million to Wexford County Council and €15 million to Wicklow County Council, which was up on the previous year. It is clear from the response provided to me that that funding was meant to address ongoing work. The figures that the Deputy has indicated to me in terms of the additional ask are very similar in scale to the level of funding provided to both counties this year for roads generally, so it is a very significant ask. Obviously, it reflects very significant damage. The response from the Department also outlines that it is expected of local authorities that they hold a certain amount of the funds they receive in contingency for exceptional cases. I do not know how much that is in any particular county. I would imagine it is quite small and is nowhere near the scale of what is being discussed here, certainly not what the Deputy has outlined. The request to the Department is similar in scale to what the ongoing level of investment would be in terms of maintenance and development of roads, so it is very significant and would certainly speak to being a lot more than what could be managed within any ongoing contingency fund. There have been a number of instances over the last number of years of damage in both counties as a result of floods. It is important that that the request to the Department from both local authorities in terms of the remediation be assessed. The Department of Transport has said in this response that it is under consideration. It is important that clarity be brought to that. The Deputy has expressed the frustration felt about how that has not happened yet. I will relay that back fairly clearly to the Department and ask it to engage further with both local authorities.

Sentiment score: 0.16