I acknowledge again the work of the Senator and the Acting Chairperson in the committee. I can assure them of the commitment of the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, to this. In his remarks to me he said he had conversations in recent days with the Attorney General and is determined to get this through.

I thank the Acting Chairperson, the officials and the officials in my Department for facilitating Committee and Report Stage today, and for their support of the Bill on Second Stage, which we dealt with here last week. As all Members are aware, this Bill deals with sensitive and complex matters. Its purpose is to protect Ireland's security and public order against threats that are emanating from investment from third countries. To achieve this, the Bill will empower the Minister of the day to assess, investigate, a…

No.

I move: That Dáil Éireann recommends Mr. Séamas Ó Concheanainn for appointment by the President as An Coimisinéir Teanga .

Tá sé iontach an Seanadóir Wilson a fheiceáil sa Chathaoir. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teach as ucht an deis seo labhairt ar an mBille seo. This Bill will empower the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to respond to threats posed by certain types of third country investments to our security and public order. It will permit the Minister to assess, investigate, authorise, condition or prohibit third country investments based on a range of security or public order criteria. As well as equipping the Irish Stat…

Gabhaim buíochas leis na Seanadóirí as ucht na focail inniu. I will go through each of the Senators' queries and then wrap up. I believe every Senator who spoke agreed on the importance of FDI. Establishing a formal investment screening mechanism is an opportunity to design and tailor a system to Ireland’s needs that specifically suits our economy and our country and maintains our attractiveness as a location for investment while also putting in place a robust but proportionate – I will revert to Senator McDowell’s…

I thank Senator Flynn for her engagement on the Bill and also thank Senators Black and Ruane for their engagement with my officials after last week's Committee Stage. The export of dual-use and military goods to all third countries - I emphasise "all" - including occupied territories, are currently and will continue to be automatically subject to control and licensing requirements. When assessing an application for an export authorisation, my Department has regard to a range of factors, including the nature of the …

I thank the Senator and her colleagues for engaging with my officials on this amendment last week. Transparency in relation to the export of military equipment from the EU is a key objective of the EU's export control framework. To give practical effect to this objective, all EU member states are obliged to provide detailed annual returns to the EU on licensing for military equipment by a member state. Based on these returns, the Council of the European Union publishes an annual report providing detailed informatio…

I join the Leas-Chathaoirleach in welcoming Bonniconlon ICA. I hope they are having a good day. I acknowledge Senator Flynn’s remarks but I have outlined that legally, we cannot accept some of the amendments due to the Attorney General's advice and due to the fact they are captured within the Bill. Amendment No. 5 is also captured within the Bill. Dual-use items and military equipment will be subject to export licensing requirements, irrespective of whether they incorporate automated means. We are in ongoing engage…

I acknowledge the work of officials in my Department, particularly Dr. Eamon Cahill and Mr. Matthew Geoghegan, who are with us in the House this evening. The Bill seeks to ensure that Ireland continues to play its part in preventing potentially dangerous items being exported from the EU and falling into the wrong hands. The horrific events of this week highlight again the senseless death, suffering and destruction caused by armed conflicts around the world. I echo the global concern for innocent civilians - men, wo…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as ucht an deis labhairt faoi intleacht shaorga, IS, sa Teach. I can assure him, given that my approach to AI is going to be person-centred, that there will always be a person standing in this spot to offer a response. As the Senator knows, the national AI strategy, AI - Here for Good, has been in place for two years. We published a progress report on this strategy on 9 August 2023. The progress report highlighted many of the achievements thus far, including, as referenced by the …

I agree with Senator Byrne. We are very aware of the challenges that will be presented by AI and by the regulation. We want to ensure balance, whereby the regulation puts in place the guardrails to which Senator Byrne referred but does not choke innovation in Ireland or Europe whereby we lose the experience of this innovation to other jurisdictions. A key part of my work in the coming weeks will be the appointment of an AI advisory council. The role of this council will be to provide independent expert advice to th…

Tógfaidh mé Ceisteanna Uimh. 8 agus 12 le chéile. Chun tacaíocht a thabhairt don straitéis náisiúnta um intleacht shaorga, táim ag moladh go mbunófar comhairle um intleacht shaorga. It is proposed that the AI advisory council will provide independent expert guidance to the Government on AI policy, with a specific focus on building public trust and promoting the development of trustworthy, person-centred AI. Its first role will be providing expert guidance, insights and recommendations in response to specific reques…

I thank the Deputy. We are working with the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and particularly with the Minister of State, Deputy Ossian Smyth, on principles and guidelines on the use of AI in the public service. It is something we are very conscious of and we want to ensure that we do it correctly. Our whole approach to AI is to ensure it is person centred. Public service staff engage with people every day, so the core approach will be to ensure AI is person centred an…

On the AI Act, we are continuing the trilogue process at European level. My officials are engaging extensively in this process and it is continuing apace. The Spanish Presidency, which concludes in December, has indicated that the legislation is a priority for it. There is still much work to be done and we are continuing to lead out on that. On resources, the Minister has directed, since he came to the Department, the establishment of a new unit within the Department to examine digital technology, AI and future tec…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Seanadóir as na leasuithe sin. I agree with the sentiment of many of the Senator's amendments but I want to put the Bill in context. It is important that the Bill is robust enough, not only to control items that are being used in a dual-use capacity but also to ensure that emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum commuting are controlled, especially if they are to be used for nefarious purposes. In order to provide regulatory transparency and consistency and to be r…

I reassure the Senator about her concerns on autonomous weapons and their danger, particularly as regards civilian populations and human rights. That is why we are working on and leading a unified EU response to the issue. The EU is also reviewing the regulation of autonomous weapons in working parties. We can be more flexible by using the list-based system because with technology changing so quickly, changing and updating legislation may allow a lacuna to arise and some of these new technologies to get through. Th…

I also welcome the delegation. I can see where Senator Black is coming from. In any assessment of an application for an authorisation to export military equipment, consideration is given to, among other things, Ireland's commitments under international conventions and multilateral agreements, particularly the Convention on Cluster Munitions. As the Senator noted, that convention prohibits all use - the production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions - in order to address the humanitarian consequences and …

I thank Senators Black and Boylan for the amendments. Again, I am worried that the inclusion of the amendments would limit the effectiveness of the Bill rather than do what we all want to do, which is to stop dual-use items going to occupied territories. As the Senators are aware, an authorisation is required to export dual-use items. They are listed in annex 1 of the dual-use regulation to a third country. An authorisation is required for transfers of military equipment within the EU as well as for export to a thi…

We will definitely have a discussion on it, but I want to be realistic as well. We are tied because this Bill is implementing EU legislation. I would like to hear the thoughts of Senator Black on that, and to hear from Senator Boylan, based on her experience, as to how we can reflect the concerns in the legislation. I am not sure we can but there may be ways of doing that within the criteria that are laid out. We are due to take Report Stage next week. I need to be very honest. I believe the amendment will limit th…