Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)

Which is very welcome. Regarding the observatory, which will be looking at doing the research which is critical to inform the work we are doing, and a lot of work is being done within our universities, we need to engage very closely with our higher education institutions who are doing a lot of work in this space. It is critical that they also have the digital infrastructure in place to be able to do that. This is more than just data centres. I encourage the Minister of State to engage with the Minister, Deputy Lawless, to ensure we have that in place.

I will touch on some of the education issues. Part of it is about the inclusive question. The Minister of State is familiar with Estonia, which is topping the PISA charts in terms of learning. The Estonian Government has partnered with OpenAI such that every 10th and 11th grader, which is every 16-year-old and 17-year-old, will have access to be able to use a large language model and AI will be integrated into the education process so that there will be upskilling of those within the education system.

Will you outline your perspective on what needs to happen within our education system to ensure that our students are prepared for these changes in an inclusive way?