I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 16 together. I thank Deputy Byrne for her very important question. This is a very serious issue and the Government has been very clear from the outset that the sharing of non-consensual intimate images and the generation of child sexual abuse material is illegal and that the use of AI to generate illegal material or to cause harm is unacceptable. The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act, known as Coco's Law, creates a serious offence of distribution or publication of an intimate image without consent with intent to cause harm to the victim. Under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, the production, possession and distribution of child sexual abuse material, whether offline or online, whether generated by AI or otherwise, is illegal and attracts a sentence of up to 14 years imprisonment. Under the Digital Services Act, the European Commission is responsible for the oversight of very large online platforms like X which are required to assess and mitigate risks that their services may create in relation to the proliferation of illegal content online and the protection of minors. An urgent cross-Government response was mobilised in response to this issue when it arose in January, including the relevant Ministers and the Attorney General as well as Coimisiún na Meán to ensure a full understanding of the significant legislative and regulatory framework that already exists and provides protections in relation to this issue and how it was being applied. Coimisiún na Meán is Ireland's digital services co-ordinator under the Digital Services Act and has engaged intensively with the European Commission since the initial reports on this serious issue. Nationally, Coimisiún na Meán has met with the assistant commissioner for organised and serious crime, the heads of the Garda national cyber crime bureau, the Garda national protective services bureau and the online child exploitation unit as well as separately with both Hotline.ie, Ireland’s national reporting centre, and the Data Protection Commission. An Garda Síochána has stated its full commitment to supporting victims and numerous investigations are currently under way to determine if there have been breaches of the law. On 26 January the European Commission announced the commencement of an investigation into X and the use of Grok to generate and disseminate illegal content under the Digital Services Act. Coimisiún na Meán collaborated closely with the Commission in its preparation and is formally associated with the investigation. The Digital Services Act puts responsibility for facilitating the dissemination of harmful content where it belongs, namely with the online platforms. The Government also welcomes this week’s announcement by the Data Protection Commission that it has commenced a large-scale inquiry which will examine X’s compliance with some of its fundamental obligations under the GDPR in relation to the matters at hand. It is important now to respect the independence of the relevant national authorities and the European Commission who are responsible for enforcement of the relevant laws and regulations and allow their investigations to be carried out independently and in accordance with procedural safeguards. In addition to these ongoing investigations, the Attorney General and the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration are examining the matter and will consider whether further legislative measures are needed in the area of non-consensual intimate images. Work is also under way in the Department of justice to transpose the EU violence against women directive which provides new protections in this area. My own Department is liaising with the European Commission and member states to advocate for adding the use of AI systems for the generation of such images to the list of prohibited AI practices under the EU AI Act. Online safety will be a core pillar underpinning the new national digital and AI strategy which was published yesterday and a priority for Ireland’s Presidency of the European Council. These measures reinforce the Government’s commitment to enhancing online safety, in particular for children and young people, as a whole-system priority.
Sentiment score: 0.06
Irrespective of any entity, large or small, the Government will not be found wanting in protecting our children. I say that as the father of two young children. Our primary concern, irrespective of any company in this State or tax revenue any company will bring in, is our future, which is our children. Four investigations are live in this area, as I referenced, under the DSA by the Commission, Coimisiún na Meán, An Garda Síochána and the DPC. We live in a constitutional democracy. Due process has to happen for investigations. If I say anything here that prejudices an investigation that is ongoing, it would do a disservice to the State and the victims, who have been at the forefront of what we are speaking about. My action in relation to the AI Act has been on trying to ensure we get additional protections in. Critically, from our meetings with the Attorney General and the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, and the work she has done, we know the law is strong in this regard. Investigations are ongoing and action will be swift. I will be very much at the forefront of calling for that, in the context of any company in this State. If it compromises in any way the safety of our children, it should pay the ultimate price. The Government is unequivocal on that. That is why are doing a huge amount of work over the next weeks and months in relation to the protection of our children and online safety, which will be so important, working with our European colleagues to get a co-ordinated response. We have to respect due process. Investigations are under way, which I referenced. That demonstrates action, and I am taking additional action under the AI Act and advocating through a European response.
Sentiment score: 0.12
I assure the Deputy those powers are under investigation in terms of completing the files. We know that from An Garda Síochána and the DPP. Independence is a core tenet of our democracy and we have to let investigations run their course. I cannot pre-empt action that might happen arising from an investigation because that would jeopardise the whole investigation. Action is very visible from the four authorities I listed that are investigating this, together with the work I am doing with the Ministers of State, Deputies Smyth and Dillon, in relation to the AI Act.
Sentiment score: 0.07
I thank the Deputy for his question. Last year, the Government received recommendations from the AI Advisory Council and National Skills Council to establish observatories on AI and skills. The action plan for competitiveness and productivity subsequently included a strategic action to establish an AI observatory. The basis for these observatories is a need to provide up-to-date data and insights on aspects such as labour market dynamics, skills and other AI metrics. I fully agree that the intelligence developed through the work of the observatories could greatly assist the Government by providing evidence on an ongoing basis to inform policy decisions. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science recently brought a memorandum to Government informing it of his intention to progress the establishment of a national skills observatory. It is envisaged that the national skills observatory will transform our skills intelligence landscape and provide a more joined-up approach to data gathering and use. The observatory will act as a central repository for labour market and skills information in Ireland, facilitating improved workforce planning, stronger policy and decision-making, and improved lifelong learning and workforce reskilling among other benefits. This will provide a valuable source of data and insights on the labour market and skills, including in relation to artificial intelligence. My Department is currently considering an observatory focused on enterprise adoption of AI. Together with the national skills observatory, this would inform Government in shaping future AI-related enterprise and jobs policy. The establishment of an observatory on the enterprise adoption of AI is a deliverable in the new national digital and AI strategy, which was published yesterday. AI is evolving rapidly and its impacts are difficult to predict. The Government is committed to strengthening our capability to understand and respond to the opportunities and challenges ahead through the AI observatory. It will be a key piece in supporting our actions.
Sentiment score: 0.36
As the Deputy has pointed out, it is critically important that risk is managed in this process. That is why the IDA has set out under its five-year strategy to train 40,000 people. In the first year, we reached 33,000. That is transformational. It makes jobs sticky and ensures that people are upskilled and ready to grasp the opportunities artificial intelligence presents. We have a skills base in the Irish economy. We have double the EU average number of ICT graduates. We also have double the EU average number of STEM graduates per capita in the 20 to 39 age category. On 14 October, we will hold our AI summit. The Minister of State, Deputy Niamh Smyth, is doing huge work on that with the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, and myself. That will be a key opportunity to showcase Ireland at the application stage. It will give us the opportunity to show what we can do and deliver in our economy. We look forward to driving the public trust and simplification agendas, which need to go hand in glove if we are to be successful and have a very strong model.
Sentiment score: 0.24
I assure the Deputies we are very much responding to the huge challenge presented in the jobs market, but also the opportunity. The opportunity is very significant. The key pieces include skills, on which we have done a huge amount of work, and having our energy policy correct. The Deputies will have seen our large energy user policy, which gives a huge opportunity for sustainable use. Power will be a significant challenge in financing our offshore renewables and our green transition, which will go hand in hand with our digital transition. Leadership is important and we are doing that through our AI summit, the work being carried out in relation to our AI Act, establishing our AI office in August, having a regulatory sandbox in place and driving that pro-enterprise, proportionate agenda across the European Union. We have to be careful to protect jobs in our economy. I know that more than most because every week I get notifications of redundancies across the economy. I see a trend in relation to those exposed to artificial intelligence. On the other side, there is huge recruitment with some companies taking on hundreds of jobs to further their research and innovation in artificial intelligence.
Sentiment score: 0.53
AI has the potential to have a profound impact on society, as well as providing significant opportunities to ensure we remain competitive and future-proof our industrial base through its adoption. That is why it is equally important to ensure we address the challenges Al poses around safety, privacy and fundamental rights in the public and private sectors. Harnessing the benefits of AI must go hand in hand with protecting the people it affects. The new national AI and digital strategy was launched yesterday. It will work across government and cover key pillars including the delivery of public services, enterprise, digital infrastructure and skills. As AI is a cross-cutting technology, the recommendations have implications across a wide range of policy responsibilities spanning a number of relevant line Departments. Much work has been done by Government, and will continue to be done, to put a strong guardrail in place for the development and use of AI in Ireland. This includes development of regulations, standards, guidelines and codes of practice. Our ambition in the new national digital and AI strategy is to enhance digital literacy and basic skills not only for the economy but across all levels of society. It is envisaged there will be an enhanced dialogue with the public and key stakeholders, including in the context of the strategy. Our goal is to build public trust in AI and ensure people feel included in its development. Most importantly, we want societal values and concerns to directly inform AI research and how technologies are adopted. To help inform Government, the AI advisory council provides independent expert advice on artificial intelligence policy and helps to build public trust in AI. Our wider national governance framework for AI, including Ireland’s implementation of the EU AI Act, is designed to uphold fairness, transparency and strong protections for health, safety and fundamental rights, ensuring the development of safe, ethical and human-centric AI systems.
Sentiment score: 0.46
I assure the Deputy of our continuing work in the areas he referenced. About 85 recommendations came from the joint Oireachtas committee. Three referred to our Department, which I am happy to speak about. They related to the establishment of the AI office, which will take place in August; to the AI and digital summit on 14 October; and to the work we are doing on the simplification agenda, which will be key to building public trust and to ensuring we are hiving out the opportunity. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, is doing huge work on the public sector piece, as referenced in the strategy published yesterday. As Members across the House have said, this is general purpose technology by its nature. Its transformational effects are like those electricity had decades ago. This will have a huge impact across every sector and every area of society. That is why it is important we have the skills to deal with it and are sharp in our innovative approach.
Sentiment score: 0.36
I thank the Deputy for his comments. We will work together on this. He is right that building public trust is a big challenge. Awareness will be central to that. I work closely with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, who has responsibility for the public service piece. We can work hand in glove on the private sector piece, protecting employees, giving skills as best we can to respond to this opportunity and also working through our tax code to incentivise innovation. We are happy to work in the coming months. As 1 July will come quite quickly, it will be important we hit the ground running. We have the building blocks and foundation already to capture a lot of this opportunity.
Sentiment score: 0.33
My Department operates the emergency humanitarian flooding scheme for small businesses and voluntary, community and sports organisations affected by flooding as a result of extreme weather and unable to obtain flood insurance through no fault of their own. The scheme is administered by the Irish Red Cross on behalf of the Department. The Department has activated the enhanced emergency humanitarian flooding scheme for businesses impacted by Storm Chandra and the subsequent heavy rainfall from 26 January to early February. The enhanced scheme is for small businesses of up to 50 employees or whole-time equivalents, and community, voluntary and sports organisations. It provides a contribution towards the cost of returning a business premises to its pre-flood condition. There are two payment stages - an initial payment of up to €5,000, and then a second payment subject to assessment of the damages by an independent, professional assessor. Under the enhanced scheme, the total funding available is capped at a maximum of €100,000 per small business or community, voluntary or sporting body. These funds may be used to replace damaged flooring, fixtures, fittings, and stock with the aim of enabling businesses to reopen as soon as possible. As of 18 February 2026, the Irish Red Cross has received 57 applications for the enhanced emergency humanitarian flooding scheme. Total funding disbursed to date is €52,000, which represents initial payments of up to €5,000. Further payments will be made, up to a total of €100,000, once independent professional assessments are carried out. Further information and application forms are available on the Irish Red Cross website. The closing date for applications is 6 March 2026. The standard scheme, where the maximum contribution is capped at €20,000, was activated twice in 2025. It was first opened in early November due to flooding caused by a severe weather event in the Bantry area, and it was subsequently reopened in mid-November to assist those affected by flood-damage in County Wexford as a result of Storm Claudia. All claims have been processed under it at that particular time have paid out €82,000.
Sentiment score: -0.18
We are making the scheme as accessible as possible. I am prepared to work with Deputies in any areas that they wish to raise. It is also important to point out that the minor works scheme has gone up to €2 million from €750,000, which also is a big asset to businesses in the sector. As I said, we want to progress. That is why we have increased €20,000 up to €100,000 to reflect the seriousness of it. I am happy to work with the Deputies in question. On Deputy Brian Brennan's issue, Merck is a significant and an important issue for his constituency. I met with so many of the employees with him a number of months ago. I assure him that the full industrial relations machinery of our State will be made available to support them. I know he has organised a number of meetings with my State agencies. I commend Deputy Brennan on the work he is doing supporting the workers.
Sentiment score: 0.38
I hear what the Deputy is saying. We have made progress across 52 schemes over the past four years. Huge work was done in Athlone in my own constituency. Work was done in Bandon, County Cork, as well. A number of these schemes have been very complex and there have been very different challenges in respect of each, either through the planning code or the complexity of delivery of them. CFRAM is very clear. There are 150 schemes that face one in 100-year events, 1% risk, that we are working through as a Government. We had a meeting last week to progress and fast-track a number of these schemes. From the Taoiseach down, we have given the commitment that we are working with minor works in terms of some remedial works that we can carry out now that can save businesses in the interim while we are waiting for the delivery of the significant schemes. They are a challenge. We have a record level of investment there to support businesses. We have to ensure that. I know that when a small family business is flooded, it is devastating. It has a devastating effect on their family. It is the same in the case of a club. We have seen the pictures and heard stories that paint thousands of words. We will be at the forefront of supporting them in the months ahead.
Sentiment score: 0.18