Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome everybody to the meeting. There are a few other matters going on in Leinster House today, as you may be aware, but this is a particularly important session in the work we are doing. Our committee will move to the impact, opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence in a range of areas, including from next week AI and the State, in terms of how the State uses AI.

We took a decision that before we examine any of the issues such as AI and healthcare, AI and energy and AI and education, we would engage with three groups to hear the relevant perspectives on those areas so that we can look at AI through those lenses. In the past two weeks, we heard from children and young people and their representatives. Last week, we heard from older people. This week, we have a session around AI and disability. I welcome a number of representatives from disability organisations. From the Disability Federation of Ireland, I welcome Dr. Emer Begley, director of advocacy, and Ms Charlotte Olhausen, policy and advocacy officer. From the National Disability Authority, I welcome Dr. Aideen Hartney, chief executive, Dr. Gerald Craddock, chief officer of the Centre for Excellence in Universal Design, and Dr. Donal Fitzpatrick, senior standards and monitoring officer. From Voice of Vision Impairment, I welcome Ms Rosita Apaza Machaca, representative, and Mr. Tim Culhane, representative.

I advise members of the constitutional requirement that members must be physically present within the confines of the Leinster House complex in order to participate in these meetings. I will not permit a member to participate where he or she is not adhering to the constitutional requirement. Therefore, a member who attempts to participate from outside the precincts will be asked to leave the meeting. In this regard, I ask any member participating via MS Teams to confirm that he or she is on the grounds of the Leinster House campus prior to making his or her contribution to the meeting.

I invite Dr. Begley to make her opening statement.