I propose to take Questions Nos. 7 and 16 together. I thank Deputy Byrne for her very important question. This is a very serious issue and the Government has been very clear from the outset that the sharing of non-consensual intimate images and the generation of child sexual abuse material is illegal and that the use of AI to generate illegal material or to cause harm is unacceptable. The Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act, known as Coco's Law, creates a serious offence of distribution or p…

Irrespective of any entity, large or small, the Government will not be found wanting in protecting our children. I say that as the father of two young children. Our primary concern, irrespective of any company in this State or tax revenue any company will bring in, is our future, which is our children. Four investigations are live in this area, as I referenced, under the DSA by the Commission, Coimisiún na Meán, An Garda Síochána and the DPC. We live in a constitutional democracy. Due process has to happen for inve…

I assure the Deputy those powers are under investigation in terms of completing the files. We know that from An Garda Síochána and the DPP. Independence is a core tenet of our democracy and we have to let investigations run their course. I cannot pre-empt action that might happen arising from an investigation because that would jeopardise the whole investigation. Action is very visible from the four authorities I listed that are investigating this, together with the work I am doing with the Ministers of State, Depu…

I thank the Deputy for his question. Last year, the Government received recommendations from the AI Advisory Council and National Skills Council to establish observatories on AI and skills. The action plan for competitiveness and productivity subsequently included a strategic action to establish an AI observatory. The basis for these observatories is a need to provide up-to-date data and insights on aspects such as labour market dynamics, skills and other AI metrics. I fully agree that the intelligence developed th…

As the Deputy has pointed out, it is critically important that risk is managed in this process. That is why the IDA has set out under its five-year strategy to train 40,000 people. In the first year, we reached 33,000. That is transformational. It makes jobs sticky and ensures that people are upskilled and ready to grasp the opportunities artificial intelligence presents. We have a skills base in the Irish economy. We have double the EU average number of ICT graduates. We also have double the EU average number of S…

I assure the Deputies we are very much responding to the huge challenge presented in the jobs market, but also the opportunity. The opportunity is very significant. The key pieces include skills, on which we have done a huge amount of work, and having our energy policy correct. The Deputies will have seen our large energy user policy, which gives a huge opportunity for sustainable use. Power will be a significant challenge in financing our offshore renewables and our green transition, which will go hand in hand wit…

AI has the potential to have a profound impact on society, as well as providing significant opportunities to ensure we remain competitive and future-proof our industrial base through its adoption. That is why it is equally important to ensure we address the challenges Al poses around safety, privacy and fundamental rights in the public and private sectors. Harnessing the benefits of AI must go hand in hand with protecting the people it affects. The new national AI and digital strategy was launched yesterday. It wil…

I assure the Deputy of our continuing work in the areas he referenced. About 85 recommendations came from the joint Oireachtas committee. Three referred to our Department, which I am happy to speak about. They related to the establishment of the AI office, which will take place in August; to the AI and digital summit on 14 October; and to the work we are doing on the simplification agenda, which will be key to building public trust and to ensuring we are hiving out the opportunity. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, is…

I thank the Deputy for his comments. We will work together on this. He is right that building public trust is a big challenge. Awareness will be central to that. I work closely with the Minister, Deputy Chambers, who has responsibility for the public service piece. We can work hand in glove on the private sector piece, protecting employees, giving skills as best we can to respond to this opportunity and also working through our tax code to incentivise innovation. We are happy to work in the coming months. As 1 July…

My Department operates the emergency humanitarian flooding scheme for small businesses and voluntary, community and sports organisations affected by flooding as a result of extreme weather and unable to obtain flood insurance through no fault of their own. The scheme is administered by the Irish Red Cross on behalf of the Department. The Department has activated the enhanced emergency humanitarian flooding scheme for businesses impacted by Storm Chandra and the subsequent heavy rainfall from 26 January to early Feb…

We are making the scheme as accessible as possible. I am prepared to work with Deputies in any areas that they wish to raise. It is also important to point out that the minor works scheme has gone up to €2 million from €750,000, which also is a big asset to businesses in the sector. As I said, we want to progress. That is why we have increased €20,000 up to €100,000 to reflect the seriousness of it. I am happy to work with the Deputies in question. On Deputy Brian Brennan's issue, Merck is a significant and an impo…

I hear what the Deputy is saying. We have made progress across 52 schemes over the past four years. Huge work was done in Athlone in my own constituency. Work was done in Bandon, County Cork, as well. A number of these schemes have been very complex and there have been very different challenges in respect of each, either through the planning code or the complexity of delivery of them. CFRAM is very clear. There are 150 schemes that face one in 100-year events, 1% risk, that we are working through as a Government. W…

I thank all Deputies for bringing forward this Bill and for their contributions. As outlined by the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, the Government opposes the Bill. The position is grounded in balance to support flexibility for workers and competitiveness for business. Remote working is now well-established and is a feature of our modern labour market, improving work-life balance and shaping how we are as a people and live and work. The Government recognises its value and has already put in place one of the earli…

I thank the Deputies for the passage of the Bill and the discussions on Committee Stage, which I took and which were robust. The Bill aims to further support workers in the event of employer insolvency, which is an important aspect, and to expand the insolvency payment scheme to include employees of employers who cease trading without formally winding up the business, which is the critical point. The technical nature of the Bill really just achieves that. My officials have been working hard to ensure workers who ne…

I have addressed the Bill.

I have addressed the Bill.

I am pleased to be in the Seanad today to present the Copyright and Related Rights (Amendment) Bill 2025 for consideration on Second Stage. The Bill was published on 13 June 2025 and initiated in the Dáil on 19 June. Committee Stage took place at the Select Committee on Enterprise, Tourism and Employment on 17 July and 12 November. The Bill was passed by Dáil Éireann on 21 January 2026. The short Bill introduces amendments to the Copyright and Related Rights Act, as amended, that are necessary following the ruling …

I thank the Senators for their remarks, details and concerns on the Bill and also those who have welcomed the Bill. Senator Crowe raised the issue of third countries. One of the findings of the Court of Justice of the European Union in its ruling in the case which gives rise to this Bill is the issue of national treatment, of nationals of countries party to international conventions and the ability of the EU member states to reciprocate when reservations are entered into by a third country. Allow me to explain. Cou…

I thank the Deputy for his question. I want to clearly point out that the underpayments and overpayments in question have come about through a series of administrative errors in the National Shared Services Office, NSSO. Critically, the cohort of people who are affected include, first, retired civil servants who previously work-shared and whose pensions were undercalculated and, second, current and former Ministers and officeholders and retired civil and public servants. Those are the cohorts who are affected by th…

There are limits on the gross threshold that is deducted every single week, bearing in mind the vulnerable situations that families find themselves in. I have worked with the Department in representing people who, sometimes through no fault of their own, have an overpayment to the Department of Social Protection.