I thank the Deputy for raising this incredibly important matter. I am here to respond on behalf of the Minister for Defence, who unfortunately cannot be here, but she sends her apologies to the House. I welcome the opportunity to respond on this matter. I acknowledge Deputy Ó Fearghaíl’s long-standing interest in the protection, conservation and preservation of the Curragh Plains and his ongoing engagement with officials in that regard. The Curragh, as State land vested in the Minister for Defence, is recognised as…

The Deputy's passion about this is obvious. The statement from the Minister, Deputy McEntee, acknowledges the contribution he has made over the years working with the Department of Defence and the National Wildlife and Parks Service as an entity that may take on the management of this beautiful, scenic, historic and important piece of landscape that we have on the island of Ireland. As I have already stated, the Minister remains committed to pursuing a modern and sustainable regulatory model to manage this historic…

I thank the Deputy very much. I acknowledge the incredible work he does on rare diseases campaigning. The issue the Before We Die group campaigns on is another incredibly important one. The Minister of State, Deputy Higgins, had hoped to be here but unfortunately she was not able to be. She acknowledges the great work the Deputy is doing and his raising of this important issue. The Minister, Deputy Foley, recently met the Before We Die group and it is her understanding that An Taoiseach and the Minister of State wi…

I again thank the Deputy for raising this important issue, which is a priority for the Ministers, Deputies Foley and Browne, and the wider Government. The Government recognises that there is more to do to improve the lived experience of those with disabilities. The increase in the disability budget for 2026 further demonstrates the multiple commitments made in the programme for Government to improve the lives of people with disabilities and make a difference. The Minister, Deputy Foley, would like to reiterate the …

I thank colleagues for their contributions. I am responding on behalf of the Minister for Health. I welcome the Deputies' intention with this Bill and thank those who have contributed to the debate this afternoon. What has been said here makes a lot of sense; however, the Government is opposing the Bill. This is primarily on the grounds that there is insufficient evidence at this time to determine the health impacts of low- and no-alcohol products and their promotion through advertising. Our Public Health (Alcohol)…

I thank the Deputy for his important question. The Government is committed to ensuring Irish businesses can adopt and benefit from Al. Many firms, particularly at an early stage of adoption, are seeking practical guidance on applying Al across core business functions. In response, my Department works closely with the enterprise agencies to develop practical guidance, case studies and sector-specific examples that demonstrate the tangible business benefits of Al. The recently published national digital and Al strate…

We have work to do to ensure that the whole SME sector is open to and embracing AI tools. If they are not embracing it and looking at digitalisation in their companies, they are set to lose and the divide between the successful and businesses that will fall behind and may ultimately fall off will come down to their ability to adopt technology. We have a suite of measures to try to make that job easier. I am always keeping a close eye on the uptake of those grants to see how businesses are engaging with them. This L…

It is true there will be disruption in the labour force and in business because of AI. The disruption and impact will be greater if businesses do not embrace AI. We have the observatory piece in our Department, OBAIR, which is looking at mitigating that. The AI will impact the workforce required. We will look at how to retrain and upskill staff so they are not left facing redundancy or anything like that. I am not in denial, and I do not think anybody in government is in denial, about the impact this will have. Our…

I thank all colleagues who have made such personal contributions, not only about their own experiences but also facilities and gaps that remain on the island within cancer services. If I could be indulged, I wish to acknowledge a wonderful young girl from Bailieborough, Orlaith Lennon. At 24 years of age, she has lost both of her parents, her dad only a month ago. She had the bravery to go out on Friday for Daffodil Day, like so many other volunteers right across the country, to do some fundraising for the Irish Ca…

I thank the Senator for raising this incredibly important issue. As somebody who is from the very rural constituency of Cavan-Monaghan, I understand the issue she has raised for people living in rural parts, particularly the farming community. So much of our lives is now transported into a digital area. We are expected to be able to adapt, put many of our public services online and be able to facilitate that. It is important as a Government that we are committed to that digital transformation. It is equally importa…

I absolutely commit to sharing the experience of the farmers in the Senator's local area with the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, to ensure something like this does not happen again and to see if any specific issue arose in that particular area. As the Senator stated, this involved 20 incredibly important businesspeople in the local area. I want to ensure we drive delivery of high-speed broadband, particularly across rural and remote areas. In urban areas, there are other ways of communicating but it is not so easily d…

I would appreciate if the Leas-Chathaoirleach could direct the Clerk to correct a minor typographical error to which I want to draw the attention of the House. I would be obliged if, in accordance with Standing Order 177, the Leas-Chathaoirleach could direct the Clerk to make a correction to the text of the Bill to include the word "the" in the Long Title on page 5, line 6, between "Part 4 of" and "Environmental Protection Agency Act", which was omitted from the initial printing of the Bill due to a technical error…

I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach and the Senators who made contributions on Second Stage and Committee Stage. I thank the Seanad for the expedient way in which the legislation was considered and progressed.

I thank Deputies Gibney, Gogarty, Healy-Rae and Dolan, who spoke so eloquently about this issue. I also thank People Before Profit and Deputies Boyd Barrett and Murphy for tabling this incredibly important Bill. It comes with a backdrop where we have all been subjected to abuse, as Sinéad was last night. I have been subjected to it myself, as has everybody in the House and particularly women. I do not think the gentlemen in the Chamber would disagree wthat women do face an increased amount of abuse online. I have b…

I thank Senator Black for her amendments. I know this is heartfelt and, of course, she is speaking from experience, which many people cannot do when speaking to amendments like this. I want to put on record that I come from an arts background in the creative industry, so I have an empathy for this. When we were on Committee Stage, I encouraged RAAP to, and I think it had the opportunity to, engage with officials from the Department. I am sorry it did not get a meeting with the Minister, Deputy Burke. I am happy to …

I thank Senator Black and Members of Dáil and Seanad, in particular members of the Select Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, for their co-operation and robust engagement on the Bill. As I have said throughout this process, it is imperative that this legislation be enacted. While only a short Bill, it introduces necessary amendments to the Copyright and Related Rights Act, as amended, following a Court of Justice of the European Union ruling delivered in September 2020. In light of Ireland's forthcomin…

We have had an interesting debate. I will begin by acknowledging a very special lady in Mullagh, County Cavan, Jane Duffy, who was lovingly known as a postwoman for 38 years. She recently retired and I want to wish her and her lovely husband, Peter Duffy, the very best of luck. The night she retired epitomised what has been said across the House during this debate. The community came out in force to go to mass. Fr. Paul Prior held a beautiful ceremony for her and everybody came to the heritage centre to celebrate, …

The programme for Government commits to the Government partnering with An Post and local communities to identify and preserve heritage post office buildings that are no longer in operation, respecting their historical value and exploring potential new uses. The Department is working in the first instance with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to discuss possible options. An Post also advises that it has a protocol in place which seeks to find the best future uses for these buildings, working …

I welcome the opportunity to address the House. I sincerely thank Deputy Byrne, as Cathaoirleach of the Joint Committee on Artificial Intelligence, and the overall committee for the important work they have undertaken in their first interim report, which is the subject of this motion. The extensive engagement by the committee that informed this work, including the range of views and perspectives gathered through consultations, expert discussions and research is evident throughout. I appreciate the significant time …

I thank each and every Deputy for their measured, considered contributions. We are all striving and working towards the same thing. I might specify two particular issues that have been raised overall. On simplification, I know how Deputy Gibney in particular feels, but we all feel passionate about it. The idea of simplification does not in any way diminish our protection of citizens and our fundamental rights. That is absolutely clear. The Deputy is right, in that I am coming from the perspective of being in the De…