Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

I am glad the Senator asked that question. As it has been explained to me, it is an entity and will be a place companies can go, especially start-ups, and work on innovation and get the expertise and advice that can guide them on the regulations. It will also allow them to work on their technology. If they have an app or business idea for AI, it will be somewhere that all the expertise is in place from a national AI office which can help and guide them. The biggest problem for companies and start-ups is the unknown. No more than what is happening geopolitically, the EU AI Act has been described to me by companies as concerning legislation that is coming towards them. The sandbox will be there and is designed to give certainty to start-ups and scale-up businesses. It will be somewhere they can go where all the expertise is in place for them to be able to ask questions about how to develop their technology and be certain that they are doing so within the regulations and the law.