Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Taoiseach. Ireland's economic success should not be taken for granted. It is critical that we continue to prioritise trade and competitiveness. With this in mind, the Taoiseach might indicate to the House when we intend to fully ratify the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada. Trade and services between Ireland and Canada amount to €10 billion and it is a significant deal we need to ratify. The Taoiseach might also indicate for our inventors and creators in this country when Ireland will join the unified patent court system. Might the Taoiseach consider holding a referendum on it in conjunction with the presidential election this autumn?

The deployment of AI in the development of services to our citizens and by business has the potential to help our economy to grow. A recent Trinity College report on the AI economy in Ireland stated the potential of AI, properly deployed, could add at least €250 billion to Ireland's GDP by 2035. It is critical that we use AI in this regard and that it is adopted across the public service. The recent launch of the report by the Minister, Deputy Chambers, is welcome but we need to encourage SMEs to use AI and experiment with it a lot more. In this light, it is critical that in these Houses it might be considered that Members of the Oireachtas would be permitted to use large language models on Oireachtas devices to try to deliver services more efficiently to our constituents.

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