Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last month we learned that Meta is to cut 5% of its staff globally and last year Intel and TikTok notified staff of impending job losses. As the Minister rightly said, there is a significant contraction and it is very important we have a plan in place as this is likely to happen again in the future. Last night we talked with the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, about AI and the implications for the Irish economy. While there are many positive applications of AI and it will continue to be growth area, significant layoffs can also result from AI. I want to see an action plan in that context. I also want to see, as we discussed last night, the building up of expertise within Government. We need to be looking at the existing skill sets and what is necessary for Government to be able to tap into these. I would also like to see, after such job losses, a measuring of how long it takes individual workers to find alternative work so that we can stay ahead of the game.

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