Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join my colleagues in welcoming the Minister of State, Deputy Troy. I have known him for a long time and I am quite certain that he will bring the same dynamism and curious mind to his new role as he brings to politics.

This is welcome legislation but in many ways it is just catching up with the reality of how businesses had to respond to the Covid-19 crisis. As his role involves trade promotion, digital matters and company regulation, I would like the Minister of State and his Department to start preparing for the changes that will happen in the business world. In many ways, this crisis has brought forward the use of new technologies within a very short period. Companies are holding Zoom meetings and are interacting electronically to a far greater extent, and we have to ensure that we are prepared for that. In that context, the Department will have to look at a number of issues. For example, virtual and augmented reality will have to be examined as businesses start using them for meeting purposes. We also need to have a debate around data security. I am conscious that there has been discussion in this Chamber about having a debate on our relationship with China, which is related to this, but we also need to have a debate on data ownership and data regulation. The Minister of State mentioned the position in respect of seals.We need to look at blockchain platforms and how they might provide us with certainty. I ask that the Minister of State champion new technology because otherwise in the future companies and everybody else will be going on far ahead and we will be trying to catch up with legislation. As such it is important that we are prepared for this.

It is interesting that over the last period we have seen grannies and granddads using Zoom to talk to their grandchildren. We have been holding parliamentary party meetings by electronic means and businesses are moving their AGMs online. Even the courts have moved toward a situation where there are online sittings. In our national Parliament, we do not seem to be able to move to a situation where we can use new technology to hold business. I was fascinated watching other parliaments. In the Scottish Parliament, ministers answer questions online. It is similar in the House of Commons and in the European Parliament. I believe the constitutional interpretation that the legal advisors to these Houses have made about what constitutes "a place" is very conservative. We need to look at it. There can be more innovative ways of using technology to hold Ministers to account by making greater use of this, our national place of parliament, rather than having to zip back and forth across the Liffey. Part of our role has to be about appreciating the convergence of the technological change going on around us and part of the Minister of State's role, including as part of this legislation, is to ensure citizens and businesses are ahead of the curve. It should not simply be a case of the Department trying to catch up after the horse has bolted.