An Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, report in April predicted that approximately 7% of Irish jobs could be lost to AI in the short to medium term. That equates to approximately 200,000 jobs. The Central Bank estimated earlier this year that almost 900,000 jobs are at risk of being replaced by AI. That is just direct job losses. In reality, the impact will be a lot worse than that because many of the jobs that are lost will be higher paid roles in ICT and finance. Over 20,000 tech jobs have been lost in the past year alone and the rate of job loss is accelerating. Meta is cutting 20% of jobs. Covalen Solutions is trying to make 700 workers redundant. Oracle is cutting 150 jobs. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have turned the economy into a corporate tax haven where income and wealth are distributed like an upside down pyramid but jobs go the other way around. A small number of mega rich US multinationals are booking billions in profits and paying a sliver of the workforce very high salaries and bonuses. In turn, this is supporting over 500,000 low-paid service workers in hospitality, retail, cleaning and childcare. That is why Ireland has the highest level of market income inequality in Europe. If 200,000 higher paid jobs are lost, or even more, when the AI bubble bursts and the global economy crashes, the wider impact on jobs and workers could be truly catastrophic. AI still is not profitable, despite all the trillions being speculated on it, and nobody has proven yet that it will lead to widespread productivity gains. An economics paper published earlier in the year, called "The AI Layoff Trap", shows how even if it does, the economic impact will still be dire because the more capitalists replace workers with AI, the fewer workers there will be to buy good and services, and consumer markets will collapse. What is the Government doing to plan for this? Not nothing but worse than nothing. It is cheering on the AI lemmings as they race over the cliff. The Taoiseach and the rest of the Cabinet are constantly banging on about adopting more AI and doing it faster even though they know it is going to decimate jobs and worsen inequality. They are sacrificing more and more of our electricity and water supply for vast, empty data centres that do not create tech jobs or protect them from being cut. In fact, they are speeding up tech job losses by creating the infrastructure that the big tech bosses need to replace more tech workers with AI. Every data centre is like a giant Pac-Man gobbling up energy, water and jobs. The ESRI predicts significant declines in household income and increases in inequality as a result of AI, including a 30% increase in capital income to the richest 10%. It is so extreme that even the ESRI is now recommending expanding taxes on wealth and capital. In other words, a wealth tax and an increase in corporation tax and inheritance taxes on the rich. That is precisely what we have been calling for. However, there is no chance of the Government doing any of that. In fact, it is doing the opposite. It is living in the last century and must get its head out of the clouds.

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