I welcome the visitors in the Gallery. I have no doubt that some people in the Oldcastle area are affected by the sad news about Wellman International. I have been in touch and have been very active. Let us be clear. I am not paying platitudes to anyone, as I feel strongly about these people. I represent them. I was elected to do so and I will certainly do that. I have met them and am meeting them. On a daily basis, I am in touch with workers and their representatives. The Senator can be assured of that. I have als…

I thank all Deputies for some of the very strongly held views expressed on this particular topic. The Government is fully committed to supporting workers and employers and delivering further supports for collective bargaining this year, following the public consultation. However, the Bill as proposed would leave the resultant legislation open to the possibility of legal challenge as regards an employer’s right not to engage with or recognise trade unions. Ireland’s system of industrial relations is voluntary in nat…

I thank the Senator for his question and warmly welcome the family who are here today to keep the campaign going for what is a very good cause. The An Saol Foundation does really great work. I thank Senator McCarthy for raising this very important issue and for offering me the opportunity to respond on behalf of the Minister for Children, Disability and Equality, Deputy Foley. Unfortunately, she is in the Dáil Chamber as we speak and could not be here. I am here on her behalf. In budget 2025, €27 million was alloca…

I again thank the Senator. I will convey his sentiments to the Minister, Deputy Foley, and encourage her to visit the site if she has not already done so. I will tell her that an invitation has been extended. The Government remains steadfast in its commitment to improving disability services and ensuring that people with disabilities and their families receive the necessary support. By implementing strategic policies, increasing financial investment and fostering a cross-departmental approach, the Department aims t…

I thank the Senator very much. As she is well aware, I am not the Minister for Social Protection, but I am the Minister of State with responsibility for AI and digitalisation. I tell her wholeheartedly that if I achieve anything over the next five years, it will be to bring efficiencies into our public services and public bodies so parents and families are not left forgotten or "invisible", as was said. We must bring in the technology to enable staff to get through the backlogs we hear so much about. In the script,…

The Senator can share the details with me, but I encourage her to share them with Minister, Dara Calleary. I will convey to the Minister the thoughts, views and, more importantly, the sentiments of what the Senator has put forward in her argument. I know that if the Minister can do anything on an individual basis for that family, he will try to ensure that their case is expedited as quickly as possible. We have a big opportunity within the public service to create efficiencies. I have no doubt that all of the offic…

I thank Deputy Gannon for raising this issue this evening. Cabra, like every other community in the country, is as entitled to it as anywhere else. I have the lived experience of the benefits of a family resource centre in my community in Bailieborough. Many moons ago, a community got together and established it in a housing estate in Bailieborough called Drumbannon. I had the privilege of starting my teaching career there, interacting with the young people in the area and interacting with the families. The service…

The Deputy is right in what he said that they can be the heart and soul and can be designed in such a way that they really respond to the nuances of a community, because communities' needs are not always the same. It is a real opportunity when a new application process is opened. The Deputy is well entitled to stand here and advocate for the Cabra centre, especially when, as he said himself, it will be highly competitive. Cabra is as deserving as anywhere else in the country. The Deputy is right that these will hav…

I thank everyone who has contributed in such a meaningful way to the debate this evening. There were some technical issues raised by Deputy Barry Ward. I will ask the officials in the Department to go back to him directly. His remarks were quite technical. I have some notes here but since he is not in the Chamber himself, it would be important and useful if the officials could revert to him directly. Directly Lawless raised some issues on gender and I am ably assisted by the Department here with a note to say that …

I thank Deputy Collins for his question. There are now 26,026 people employed in Enterprise Ireland-supported companies in County Cork, a net increase of 846 jobs during 2024. There was also positive job creation recorded across the three LEOs based in County Cork, with 3,076 jobs supported by 618 LEO clients. This represents a net gain in 2024 of 119 jobs. The FDI performance in the south west, which comprises counties Cork and Kerry, has been consistent over the past five years, with employment among IDA clients …

I take the Deputy's point. Balanced regional development is a key priority for the Government and all TDs who are from more rural parts of the country. I will raise the Deputy's specific questions with the Department following this. The number of jobs in Enterprise Ireland-supported companies in County Cork has increased by 846 since 2023, with 26,026 now employed in the county by those companies. The regional impact of Enterprise Ireland's efforts is evident in the distribution of job growth across all nine region…

I thank the Deputy. I will take a note of the specific areas he asked about. We all want to create the balanced regional development the Deputy has spoken about. The introduction of AI may allow companies to do that and allow people to work in more rural parts. We will focus on that with Enterprise Ireland, the IDA and the LEOs to see how we can support them in achieving that.

I congratulate Deputy Bennett. It is lovely to say "Deputy Bennett", having worked with her and known her well in Monaghan County Council. I am sure they are all incredibly proud of her down there. Well done. My Department is the national competent authority with responsibility for export controls, including controls on defence-related exports and export of dual-use goods. Controls on the export of dual-use items are administered by my Department in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2021/821 of the European Parliamen…

I assure the Deputy, even though I have only been in the Department for a couple of weeks, that, working with the Minister, Deputy Burke, we are sure and we have very strong controls in place. As part of their assessment, my officials seek the views of the Department of Foreign Affairs in respect of all applications for export licences, including those with the end destination of Israel. Both my Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs review all dual-use export licence applications against the eight assess…

I thank the Deputies for their questions. They are very legitimate questions to ask. I am assured by the Departments - our own Department and the Department of Foreign Affairs - that they do a really robust risk assessment around those applications. If the officials are not confident or have any question marks over them, they refuse those licences.

I do not but I will get that for the Deputy. I will get a detailed written reply on the issues the Deputies have raised. In fact, I might ask the Department to have a conversation with the Deputies on the legitimate questions they have raised today.

My Department established the digital transition fund as part of Ireland's national recovery and resilience plan with the objective of driving the digital transformation of enterprise in Ireland. The Minister, Deputy Burke, spoke earlier about the drive that is being made by the Department to ensure all businesses across Ireland reach those targets. The fund was specifically designed to aid the achievement of the high-level workstreams of Ireland’s national digital strategy, Harnessing Digital, and Ireland’s contri…

I thank the Deputy very much for his kind wishes and also for his important question. There is a range of supports to help businesses in digitalisation available under the digital transition fund through Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta. In addition, the LEOs offer digitalisation supports for eligible businesses, including the digital for business initiative and the grow digital voucher. These direct-to-company supports are complemented by Ireland’s four European digital innovation hubs. The…

I thank Deputy Brennan for his remarks. I take on board everything he said. As he pointed out, we had a very robust discussion yesterday on AI and how that is impacting businesses globally, not just nationally. I take his point on board. As the Minister, Deputy Burke, stated, there is a drive to bring all businesses into the digitalisation era and a commitment to have 90% of SMEs there by 2030. It is a big task but the Department and the Minister have put so many measures in place that it is hoped we can reach that…

I thank Deputy Moynihan for the question and for his very kind comments. A refresh of Ireland's national AI strategy was published in November 2024. It takes account of the significant developments in AI technology and regulation that have happened since the 2021 strategy. The national AI strategy sets out a whole-of-government approach to putting the necessary enablers in place to underpin AI adoption in enterprise and public services, including a supportive innovation ecosystem, a secure data and connectivity inf…