Go raibh maith agat, a Theachta.

I welcome the launch of the aiready.ie website and its aims to upskill over 1 million people through free, short, accessible courses. As an introductory platform, it is very helpful and is a positive in that direction. My concern is whether aiready.ie in its current form is equipped to support workers who are facing immediate displacement and whether it connects clearly into deeper retraining pathways.

Demystifying AI and familiarising people are an important first step. It cannot stop there, however, and the current AI Ready platform is focused very much on the first steps of introduction to AI. AI, as the Minister said, is rapidly evolving, and I am concerned that AI Ready may be focusing on yesterday's AI already. Can it bring people towards deeper retraining pathways? Can it act as a gateway? I look, for example, at MTU in Cork, with a wide range of micro credentials assisting people mid-career with courses i…

AI Ready is an important first step and it needs to evolve quickly from the basic introduction into a more meaningful enabler and a gateway for other courses. I am glad that the Minister has been engaging with the various colleges, SOLAS and others about the courses they are offering and developing. Will they be available through the AIready.ie portal? Will it act as a gateway or a portal? Because some sectors will be more affected by AI than others, will there be sector-specific courses and pathways set out and si…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputies Pádraig O'Sullivan and Louis O'Hara - To discuss equitable access to rare disease medicines. Deputy Michael Cahill - To discuss refurbishment of school buildings across County Kerry. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss the financial strain on people with dietary restrictions due to a medical diagnosis. Deputy George Lawlor - To discuss the system and mech…

The Deputy's time is up.

I need to raise with the Taoiseach the situation at Coachford College. There is a major plan for a new 1,000-student school, but it is not on the Department of education's priority list. It really needs to be. Two and a half years have been spent on getting planning permission, with the education and training board, ETB, going through issues with the council and Irish Water. There is real concern that once that is resolved, the project will still have to wait to go through tendering and so on with the Department of…

-----and they really need to get access to a school of the best quality.

AI is no longer evolving year on year but rather month on month. Businesses are now encountering agentic and autonomous AI systems that can plan, act and execute workflows. While larger firms are moving more quickly, SME adoption is lower and more uneven. That risks embedding a two-speed economy. Will the Minister of State set out how current AI supports are being adapted and scaled to help SMEs to move beyond pilots and entry-level tools and into more measurable and productive approaches?

We already see evidence that many SMEs are stuck around entry-level AI adoption. Most businesses planning AI investments are expecting to spend under €10,000. That is typically on more basic content creation and basic marketing rather than on deeper, productive gains through workflow automation and supply chain optimisation, for example. At the same time, Ireland remains mid-table, just above average, in EU business AI adoption. That is behind countries like Denmark and Finland. How will existing schemes, through t…

I want to move the focus towards job protection. The real risk from AI is not so much AI itself as the poorly managed adoption of AI. Where we have seen agentic and autonomous systems, as I mentioned earlier, they must not just assist with the work but should carry out tasks and co-ordinate workflows. Where people are trained to supervise and validate the work alongside the AI, productivity can grow; where that training is absent, it looks like the AI will almost substitute for the person. Smaller businesses are ex…

Menopause has recently begun to receive the recognition that it deserves in this country. The introduction of the free HRT scheme was a significant and welcome step forward. However, the policy has always contained a clear and acknowledged gap for women for whom hormonal treatments are medically contra-indicated. The National Centre for Pharmacoeconomics last week published its assessment on Veozah, a non-hormonal treatment for moderate and severe symptoms associated with menopause. This medication is particularly …

A significant milestone was reached last week with the NCPE report. Ultimately, this is a question about fairness and equality. Women who are medically eligible for HRT now receive their treatment free of charge, whereas women who cannot take HRT, often because of hormonally sensitive cancers, are directed towards non-hormonal alternatives, yet those alternatives are not treated equally by the State. That is not a position that should continue, especially when there is an alternative available with Veoza. I have ra…

The scheme needs to be reopened at this point to ensure equality.

Pharmacies have a very strong position in their communities. They have close relationships with their customers and are very much trusted. They are the first point of contact for many people who want to discuss a health issue. There is a large network right across the country. They are found in almost every community. They are open long hours and are very much available. They are ideally situated for the delivery of health and wellness hubs. Will the Minister outline the efforts being made to expand the role of pha…

I acknowledge last year's community pharmacy agreement, which recognises the role of the pharmacy as primary care. I also acknowledge the commitment to advance the health and wellness hub side. There is a proposal, which is currently being moved on, with regard to three programmes that are to be rolled out as part of advancing these hubs. While I acknowledge these campaigns, they seem fairly limited. There is to be a week on men's health, a month on alcohol in pregnancy and a winter vaccination campaign, which many…

Pharmacists have considerable knowledge and expertise. As the Minister has mentioned, this extends well beyond the pharmacological side of things, for example, into lifestyle. One would expect the wellness hub concept to expand into the area of lifestyle. Will further non-pharmacological campaigns be made available with regard to vaping, mental health, positive ageing, fitness and many other areas? It is also vital that there be prior engagement with pharmacists to identify the kind of campaigns to be run and to pr…

I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy John Paul O'Shea - To discuss the need to expand WWTP capacity in Kanturk. Deputy Albert Dolan - To discuss battery energy storage systems and solar planning guidelines in rural Ireland. Deputy Ciarán Ahern - To discuss the proposed relocation of the An Post Edmondstown sorting office to Lucan. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue - To discuss a school building at…

Gabhaim buíochas.

I thank the Minister of State for the Kanturk update. Deputy O'Shea has two minutes to respond.