Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to take the floor of the House today as Ireland’s first Minister of State who has artificial intelligence, AI, in their title. We are living in a time of great change, unpredictability and opportunity. I am determined that my mandate as Minister of State in the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment will deliver and maximise the benefits of AI for our businesses, the economy and society more broadly. The opportunities presented by AI are not like previous technological advances. The speed and pace of progress is completely unprecedented. The potential for transformative impacts on our society and economy for our collective good is unparalleled. AI’s ability to analyse data, recognise patterns and provide insights has reshaped the way we work and live.

The use of AI in smartphone technology has grown rapidly in recent years and is an example to most of us of how we can relate to it. AI-powered personal assistants such as Siri and Google Assistant have become a staple diet of many people’s daily lives. In my few short weeks as Minister of State, I have already learned there are massive opportunities for using AI to benefit the economy and wider society across various sectors. AI presents opportunities for beneficial impacts including in the delivery of public services, weather forecasting, healthcare, scientific discovery, sustainability, agriculture, transport and mobility.

I will take a minute to emphasise some of these opportunities. First, the use and application of AI technology has great potential to help to solve challenges in healthcare. We are seeing exciting strides in areas such as robotic surgery, the diagnosing of blood diseases and cancers and the analysing of medical images. Second, AI is being used to improve energy efficiency and predict energy demands and can, therefore, help us to address sustainability and climate action. AI is being deployed to monitor and reduce carbon emissions. AI contributes significantly to climate action by enabling data-driven environmental monitoring, optimising energy and consumption and supporting sustainable practices across industries. Smart grids powered by AI can balance energy demand and supply in real time, increasing energy efficiency and contributing to the fight against climate change.

Another important use of AI is in agriculture, which is an area in which there are incredible applications, such as predicting disease outbreaks in herds through AI-enabled data analytics. AI tools are being used to monitor crop health and optimise farming practices. The potential efficiencies are huge.

Improving delivery of public sector services for our citizens is another important opportunity. Strong digital government brings significant public value benefits to the wider economy as well as to the communities and businesses with which the public service engages. These are just a few examples of the opportunities and benefits. Its potential reach is vast. That is why the Government developed a national AI strategy in 2021 called AI - Here for Good. The strategy serves as a roadmap for how Ireland can leverage the potential of AI for unlocking productivity, addressing societal changes and delivering public services. It envisages a future for Ireland as an international leader in using AI to the benefit of businesses, public services and, most importantly, for people through a human-centred, ethical approach to AI development, adoption and use.

A refresh of the AI strategy was published in November 2024 by my predecessor, the Minister, Deputy Calleary, when he was the Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment. The refresh takes account of the significant developments in AI technology and regulation, namely, the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022 which predicted a massive acceleration in AI technologies that are available to consumers and businesses. Second, the AI Act was enacted in August 2024 and therefore, the parameters of the regulation of the use of AI in the EU are now clear. The refresh of the national AI strategy builds on the solid foundations in place and aims to balance innovation with proportionate regulation and trust-building measures.

While the benefits of AI are clear, there are also important ethical and societal implications that must be considered. Issues such as privacy, security and job displacement are just a few of the challenges that are coming with the increasing use of AI. It is crucial we address these concerns proactively and work to ensure AI is used for the betterment of society. That is why building public trust and putting appropriate guardrails in place is a priority focus of the Government’s AI strategy.

In respect of the Government’s ambition for enterprise, embracing AI and digital technologies is crucial for our continued economic growth and prosperity. A competitive, innovative and resilient enterprise base is essential to provide high-quality jobs and employment opportunities for people to live and prosper in all regions. Obviously, that will hopefully help to bring better regional development throughout the country on the island of Ireland. AI will help business to achieve this. We have clear goals in this regard. We want at least 75% of enterprises in Ireland to be using the cloud, AI and data analytics by 2030. According to the statistics published by the CSO last Friday, AI adaptation in Ireland rose from 8% of enterprises in 2023 to 14.9% in 2024. While these figures are promising and growing, it is not enough. We need to encourage more businesses to adopt AI by ensuring the necessary enablers are in place.

Strand 3 of the refresh of the national AI strategy sets out our appropriate approach to drive AI in Irish enterprises. One of the biggest opportunities around AI deployment is in the bridging of the productivity gap in our indigenous SMEs. Generative AI and AI assistants offer huge opportunities to drive efficiencies, particularly in the context of micro-enterprises and SMEs. To support the adoption of AI by micro-enterprises and small businesses, my Department has developed and launched the grow digital portal, which is now available at growdigital.gov.ie. We want all businesses to get on board with technology. To put it simply, if we can encourage more AI adoption, it will help to save business owners time and money and make them more competitive. That is why eligibility for the grow digital vouchers offered by the local enterprise offices, LEOs, has been widened, expanding eligible expenditure and doubling the grant to €5,000, or 50% of expenditure. It is being extended to all businesses, regardless of their export status, with up to 50 employees.

The LEOs have introduced the digital for business consultancy scheme that provides expert digital consultants to help businesses with up to 50 employees to explore technology adoption opportunities. While technology companies are obviously readily adopting new technologies, most of my focus and the Department’s focus is on driving increased usage of AI in the non-tech sectors and in domestically trading businesses. They are obviously the ones that will need the most help and support. These include showcasing potential benefits to their businesses. The use of role models and case studies that business owners can relate to is a good way of encouraging business owners to consider technology that is good and fit for purpose. The grow digital portal has a case study catalogue with digital success stories showcasing how different non-tech businesses have embraced digital solutions to boost their operations.

We are promoting these case studies across social media to reach as many businesses as we can on LEOs' websites and the Department's website. The enterprise agencies will also continue to provide and enhance a level of targeted support, training and advice to businesses to drive the adoption and deployment of AI systems across all sectors. I emphasise that businesses have a very important role to play in showing we can use AI to develop better, trustworthy, more efficient products and services and increased values for consumers.

Another important support is CeADAR, Ireland's centre for applied AI, which is based in UCD. It is a key part of our ecosystem as our European digital innovation hub for AI and as an Enterprise Ireland and IDA technology centre. It acts as the bridge between the worlds of applied research in AI and data analytics and their commercial deployment by businesses. I encourage all my colleagues across the House to look at the upskilling and training opportunities available through CeADAR. It recently launched an online course, AI for You: Introduction to AI and the EU AI Act, which will increase awareness of AI and support adoption of AI by both the public and private sectors.

While I have described how this technology can be deployed in every business and across our regions, it is important to recall that we connect to a wider, rapidly changing economic landscape. The president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has set a goal for the EU to become a global leader in AI innovation as an AI continent. I know our guests in the Visitors Gallery will be delighted to hear that. Our national approach is strongly aligned with this ambition. Ireland's excellent research and innovation ecosystem is a key driver for our economic development and international competitiveness.

The Government is committed to maintaining a good balance of investment across the spectrum from fundamental to market-oriented research. A strong ecosystem for fundamental AI research through collaborations between universities, research institutions and industry is an essential foundation for breakthroughs in AI technologies and a healthy AI sector. Equally important is a research ecosystem which supports applied AI and the rapid deployment and commercialisation of AI technologies. This includes support for startups, incubators and accelerators that bring AI solutions to the market. Ireland has a number of excellent AI research facilities. The Government provides a range of funding programmes to support collaboration between industry, research and academia through which AI-related projects are funded. These include Enterprise Ireland innovation vouchers, innovation partnerships, technology centres and gateways, Knowledge Transfer Ireland and the Technology Transfer Office Network. Despite this, the ecosystem would benefit from greater coherence. Our strategy commits to unifying the goals of the various AI research centres and creating a centralised national AI research nexus.

The intention is to increase the potential of Ireland's research community to deliver serious and significant impact in the global AI landscape. I also want to mention skills because every significant technology advancement brings changes to the labour market and the demand for skills - this is probably where the most concern and resistance may occur - and AI is no different in that regard. With AI set to transform a wide range of industries and occupations, skills will play an important part in our success. Our range of digital upskilling and reskilling initiatives, including those available via Skillnet Ireland, SpringBoard+ and future human capital initiatives, will be expanded as part of the refresh AI strategy. Enterprise will need to be proactive in upskilling its workforce to develop AI skills and knowledge necessary to leverage the technology. By continuing to invest in upskilling opportunities, we can unlock the true potential of Ireland's workforce and ensure we remain a highly active location to do business well into the future.

Our ambition is that the adoption of AI will result in safer, more productive workplaces where workers are empowered but not replaced by AI tools. For example, AI will be able to take over repetitive and dangerous tasks for workers. The development of a whole-of-government approach to skills policy, including through the establishment of a new national skills council, is under way. The Government will also update the 2022 study on AI skills for the expert group on future skills needs as part of the programme on technology skills.

Safety and security are central to trust. For this reason, the landmark EU AI Act, which is the world's first comprehensive regulation establishing guardrails for the safe use of AI, will play a critical role in providing reassurance and unlocking the benefit of AI. The EU AI Act is designed to achieve this by introducing clear and proportionate rules and guardrails for the development and use of safe, ethical and humancentric AI systems. My Department will lead on the national implementation of the Act. We are currently working closely with other Departments to devise the optimal configuration of competent authorities to ensure comprehensive and robust implementation of the Act. The Minister, Deputy Burke, will bring a memorandum to the Government over the coming weeks setting out the proposed approach.

The AI Act's risk-based approach means that only those systems which could pose high risks in areas such as health, safety and fundamental rights will be subject to its rules and obligations. The vast majority of AI systems will not be subject to any regulation systems under the AI Act. In parallel with the rules to mitigate the risks of harm from AI systems, the AI Act contains measures to support innovation with a particular focus on the needs and constraints of SMEs, including startups. The Act provides simplified ways of compliance for SMEs. The interests of SMEs will be represented in the development of standards under the Act. The European Commission must regularly assess the certification and compliance costs for SMEs and work with member states to lower such costs. Member states must be provided priority access to the AI regulatory sandboxes for SMEs. Member states must establish dedicated channels for communication to support SMEs throughout their development by providing guidance and responding to queries during the implementation of this regulation. Penalties for infringements of the AI Act must take into account the interests of SMEs and their economic viability. These are all the ways that the needs of SMEs have been given priority in the Act.

I wish to conclude on a note of empowerment. AI technology is developing rapidly but it is not something that is happening to us passively. AI is a horizontal general-purpose technology that is widely applicable to a range of sectors. As such, it is for us to consider the impact on our own interests and priorities. We can ensure AI continues to play a positive role in our world by improving lives and creating a better future for generations to come. AI is here and it is here for good.

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