Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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1. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for an update on the steps he is taking to protect jobs in the technological sector; if an audit of job security across the sector has been undertaken; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22001/25]

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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I wrote to the Minister in March following the announcement of 300 job losses in TikTok to ask whether he would commission an audit of job volatility in the technological sector. As it stands today, almost 5,000 staff at Intel are in limbo following the company's announcement of global cuts of 20% to its workforce. I hope, like the Minister, that all of those jobs will be retained. Has he commissioned an audit of jobs in this sector?

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for her question. Although the technology sector has undergone a period of sustained growth for more than 20 years, modest contractions have occurred recently. Possible US trade actions on semiconductors and other challenges have also created a moment of international uncertainty in the sector. In response to these geopolitical and trade challenges, the Government has agreed to expedite its action plan for competitiveness and productivity. Furthermore, several short-term measures, such as enhancing international trade promotion, addressing business costs and improving energy infrastructure will bolster the resilience of technology firms and support their competitiveness.

Where job losses are announced by any IDA Ireland-client company based here, our first concern is for staff members and their families impacted by such decisions. My Department’s main aim, with the support of our enterprise development agencies, is to assist, where possible, in helping those impacted to find alternative employment through a number of measures, including: the provision of a detailed skills profile for the employees that can be shared with other potential employers; identification and connection with employers who may be hiring across the locality or a wider region; information sessions by the Department of Social Protection's Intreo office on social welfare services and employment support services; identification and provision of training and further opportunities for employees; and exploring opportunities for people to start their own business through local enterprises offices, LEOs, and Enterprise Ireland.

Working with the IDA and Enterprise Ireland, our objective is to sustain and create further employment in the technology sector. The programme for Government sets out a range of commitments, including sectoral strategies that will support the sector. To this end, I will launch the national semiconductor strategy this month, which will be a clear signal of Government support for this economically and strategically vital sector. As part of the development of the strategy, my Department undertook a comprehensive mapping exercise to identify Ireland’s key semiconductor market actors, both indigenous and multinational, which will further inform our engagements with the sector, both domestic and multinational.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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The threat to jobs in Intel and the job losses in TikTok come on the back of job cuts in Meta. There are reports of 300 jobs at risk at Carelon Global Solutions Ireland in Limerick. This company, as the Minister will know, provides digital integrated solutions for the healthcare industry. It has talked about its decision to consider its future in Ireland, which comes after a review of its business operations and an examination of the changing healthcare landscape globally. Is the Minister working with the staff and management at Carelon Global Solutions in this regard? Has he explored alternatives to these proposed layoffs, which would not only be a severe blow to the individual workers but have a huge negative impact in Limerick? While I welcome the semiconductor strategy, I ask for it to be implemented on an all-island basis. There are huge opportunities in the semiconductor space.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In all the sectors the Deputy referenced, we are absolutely responding with significant policy interventions, particularly our action plan on competitiveness. While there was a huge increase in growth in the technological sector of approximately 15% or more during the pandemic period, we have seen a recalibration in some areas. While it is difficult for families to face news of uncertainty, the critical thing is there are huge opportunities. The sector is growing globally, which is incredible in an Irish context, with so many new companies, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence and generative AI. There are huge opportunities in this regard for Ireland as a world leader, particularly in a European context.

We have a strong basis for growth. The IDA strategy to 2029 specifically highlights the areas of digitalisation and semiconductor activity. Those areas will be key to sustaining our employment levels into the future. We are doing a number of measures, such as our action plan for competitiveness and our new semiconductor strategy. We updated our AI strategy last November, which is important, in partnership with industry. We have many significant research partners in tertiary education that are yielding significant results we can see on the landscape

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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There is a real urgency around this. The Minister did not address Carelon Global Solutions and what is being done there. I take it he is in there, talking to staff, and that he has SkillNet Ireland in there as well to work with these companies and to examine available alternatives in the immediate term. The question the Government must answer is where the next decade of jobs is coming from. We need a calm, strategic response in this regard. What we do not need, in this period of economic instability, is to row back on commitments to pension enrolment, wages and sick leave. The staff, as the Minister rightly said, must be front and centre. All of these staff members have families who are living and trying to cope with in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis. We can only create a sustainable economy and society by addressing the core issues, namely, our infrastructure, the deficits in water services, renewable energy and enhancing the communications network.

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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In respect of Carelon Global Solutions, we are working closely with the company. There is an established protocol in the Department for any company that is encountering difficulty or making announcements. We are the first responders in there working with them, providing skills and ensuring they have the pathway to further training and redeployment. That is a big challenge in some of the at-risk sectors. IDA Ireland is very clear on doing a risk profile. We try to get investment into such companies early and foresee the pressures that are coming. Research and development grants we have provided to a number of companies really cement the next product line and embed the next level of patents and IPs. That will be critical for our future. We have done that on a number of occasions.

In an economy at full employment, there are always pressure points. We look at the risk profiles, which are so important to us. This is one thing on which I challenge the IDA regularly. We need to foresee the problems in the next six, eight, ten months or two years and try to see what we can do now to embed that employment into our economy. We are very much to the forefront in doing that and the next strategy really sets that out. I particularly wish to mention the €7.5 billion in research and development investment by the IDA over the next five years, which will mean a 400% increase in research and development investment over the past decade.

Aidan Farrelly (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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There has been an agreed change to the order of Priority Questions. We will move to Question No. 6 in the name of Deputy Joe Neville.