I welcome the opportunity that has been afforded to all Members of the Dáil to speak on AI. I particularly welcome it in my capacity as Vice Chair of the Oireachtas AI committee. A few moments ago there was a school of young children sitting in the Gallery. I am fairly certain that somebody here thought it wise to perhaps say that this was not a debate that their ears should be listening to in the context of what we have heard this week, so a simple act of child safeguarding took place and the children left the Gallery a few moments ago. It really beggars belief that an AI provider, a global organisation, a multibillion-dollar organisation, cannot implement the most basic levels of children's safeguards in the operation of what it is trying to produce. What has happened this week is a stark reminder of the challenges and the risks we face with AI. We know what the public think about AI. In every poll in this country, in the United States, all around the world, people are fearful of AI. The majority of people are fearful of AI, and it is our job in this Chamber to ensure that as AI is introduced into society and into our State, we regulate it in an appropriate way so we can harness its benefits. I am extremely proud of Ireland's membership of the European Union. I am extremely proud that the European Union, in great distinction from the United States and China, is adapting a regulatory approach to AI. We are certainly not there yet, and this week is a reminder of the challenges we face, but I am very proud that An Garda Síochána does not discriminate between what is taking place online and what is taking place within the real world. From the remarks that were made in the Oireachtas committee yesterday, it is quite clear that the gardaí in this country will be carrying out the laws that have been initiated in these Chambers to their fullest when it comes to any illegal behaviour that takes place, whether it is Grok or any other AI provider out there. They must comply with the laws of this country, and we must ensure that when it comes to the EU regulations we are introducing here, Ireland becomes a beacon, a global leader, for regulatory enforcement. The EU Presidency, which Ireland will host, is a great opportunity for Ireland to lead in this direction. There is the intention to host an AI summit that would champion regulatory enforcement. We have already demonstrated that Ireland can attract some of the biggest technological companies in the world to base here, to attract a skilled labour force, to be supported by universities and research, that can develop extraordinary things that will literally change mankind. We have been able to do that, support employment and provide a regulatory based environment in which they operate. Ireland can show, when we host the Presidency and implement the AI Act, that we established the AI office and we have multiple competent authorities. We know that AI will touch every edifice of every single Government Department. We can show that with a strong regulatory environment, we can harness the benefits from AI and address the harms. Out there in the public, however, there is no doubt about it. We are talking this week about sexual harm that can be imposed from how AI entities can be manipulated, but one of the biggest concerns people have when it comes to AI is the disruption to the labour market. That is why it is so important that right now we get this right and that we adapt AI in a way that we ensure we are meeting the future skills needs for the kids who were here earlier, the kids who are in primary school, secondary school and third level. Whether we like it or not, this is a pivot moment in society the likes of which we have not seen for generations. We have seen in Ireland when moments like this arise that people stand up. One thinks back to T. K. Whitaker and all the changes that were made in this country to open Ireland, to open our economy, to give us the kind of society and the kind of wealth that was unimaginable in decades past and that we have today, that we survive off today and that puts Ireland in the envy of Europe when it comes to employment. This is another one of these moments where we, as a State, as a country, have to decide how Ireland will harness the benefits from AI, how we will change how we operate in education and how we will change how we operate in our health services. For that reason, I really welcome this opportunity to speak.

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