Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Minister of State very much. I very much welcome the fact that the general scheme is going to be coming before Government, that we will see legislation in place to underpin this office by next summer and that the office will be in place by August 2026. As the Minister of State knows, resourcing is critical to this. During debate on the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, the Minister of State and I talked about Coimisiún na Meán and ensuring that it was adequately resourced. I am not just talking about budgets but also about putting in place qualified personnel. It needs to be an office that will command respect. Working with those other competent authorities is critical. The commitment to have the office in place by August 2026 is important.

I do not know if the Minister of State can outline how she envisages some of the governance structures. Does she see there being a board? How will that board be formulated? The Minister of State praised the young people I mentioned. I ask that she commits to a youth advisory panel as part of this to ensure we hear the voices of children and young people along with everyone else in society because this has to be human-centric.

I certainly envisage that, if the office is in place, it will have input into the creation of the observatory because having evidence-based data to inform our policy decisions and to be prepared for trends, whether disruption to employment or opportunities in healthcare, is important. It will obviously be critical for the AI summit the Minister of State and her Department will be hosting during the latter half of next year. It is very ambitious. I welcome and applaud the Minister of State's ambition. I just need certainty that we are going to be able to achieve it.

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