Results 581-600 of 12,393 for speaker:Louise O'Reilly

Digital Services (Levy) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: There is a small amount of ambiguity in the wording and that was the reason for the amendments. It was as much to prompt the debate as anything else. If the Minister of State is saying that where there is an individual involved, he or she is regarded as an entity. That makes sense. If that is the clarification, I am happy to accept that.

Digital Services (Levy) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: Yes.

Digital Services (Levy) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: Inadvertently. I understand, but that was not the intention of it.

Digital Services (Levy) Bill 2024: Committee and Remaining Stages (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: I move amendment No. 3: In page 5, between lines 23 and 24, to insert the following: "(5) Nothing in this Act shall allow for the collection of levies for any reason other than funding the regulatory work of the Commission and the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission.". The amendments in this grouping have been submitted to seek clarity that levies can...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: With the greatest of respect to the Taoiseach, whatever it was he said on Monday did not work because the industrial action started at one minute past midnight today. As the Minister rightly said, people are facing into a chaotic summer now. They have spent all year working hard, they have spent all this time saving up and they are looking in now. The Minister tells me her heart goes out...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: This morning, pilots at Aer Lingus started industrial action in the form of a work-to-rule. As a consequence, Aer Lingus has already cancelled almost 300 flights with more to follow. The impact of the work-to-rule and specifically the ban on overtime is difficult to predict and passengers have been warned that their flights may be cancelled right up to the moment they arrive at the...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: I thank our guests. I will jump straight in. We often talk about the four Ds, namely, demographics, decarbonisation, digitisation and deglobalisation. They are key trends that are likely to transform the economy over the next decade. Based on the figures, as it stands, only 66% of SMEs have a basic level of digital intensity, according to the DESI, as Ms Carberry referenced. That has...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: Yes. It is the figure of nearly 20% that threw me. It is-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: I thank Ms Carberry for that because it was one of those figures that jumped out. I see her colleagues nodding. It is good to hear that explanation.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: I can imagine. My next question relates to AI, the cloud and big data. We know that the national AI strategy refers to all those things as being here for good, and fingers crossed for that. We know that big data, AI, analytics, the cloud and so on are essential technologies which will be key drivers for productivity and innovation and will enable us, exactly as Ms Carberry said, to be on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: That is fine. I am just curious to know if there will be a specific focus on SMEs.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: It is not that we think that bigger companies will just manage on their own; they will not. However, they have a lot more resources, so that partnership with IBEC will be the one that will drive the focus for SMEs.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: The organisations like that are interested. I know ISME, Family Business Network Ireland, the Irish Exporters Association, all those groups-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: Exactly. They are all interested. I think they are interested, concerned and curious. They do not want their competitors getting ahead of them but, equally, they want to keep doing what they are doing and do not want to be branching out to do something new that might be beneficial but also could be costly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: And to be led by the businesses. That is grand. That is good to know.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: That is welcome. I know we are talking about digital but there is no substitute for being physically present.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: In the context of looking at AI, the committee is focused on the need for human involvement, particularly when hiring and firing people, deciding who gets what shift and that sort of thing. Algorithms might be very handy but they do not take account of human beings. Some human involvement has to be built in. SMEs and customers want to know that is happening. On the threats posed and...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: Unfortunately, the headline "The cybersecurity worked and nobody was harmed", will never get much publicity. The only time we talk about it is when there has been a major security breach. I know the cybersecurity centre is not a competency of the Department. How much input has there been from the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment into a strategy for industry?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation: National Strategic Roadmap for the Digital Decade: Discussion (26 Jun 2024)

Louise O'Reilly: My time is up. I thank the witnesses. I must apologise because I need to go to another meeting. I will not be able to stay but I will look back.