Naoise Ó Cearúil (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the Minister of State on her elevation. She has taken to the role and shown a great interest in artificial intelligence and her wider remit. I thank her for her engagement with me on different policy proposals, particularly on a national AI office, so I welcome her comment that it is an ambition to establish a national AI office. It needs to be a stand-alone office, similar to the Data Protection Commission and Coimisiún na Meán. The national AI office should have a stand-alone commissioner and be answerable to the Oireachtas. If it was to be within the Department for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, for example, it would have a natural focus on SMEs. If it were stand-alone, we could look at it from a justice perspective, from a health perspective, and across society. When the concerns about AI are shared, having a competent strong regulator will be critical not just from our perspective, but also as a hub within Europe with large tech companies. The Data Protection Commission and the Coimisiún na Meán are excellent examples of regulators we have established in this country and have acted as best practice internationally.

Will the Minister of State consider, liaising with colleagues at Cabinet and with the Taoiseach, establishing the national AI office as a stand-alone entity rather than within the Department of enterprise or the Department of An Taoiseach?