Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Senator Byrne for raising this topic today and giving us the opportunity to debate it in the House. He has correctly said that the digital world is growing and is very much a part of our everyday lives. It is important that the Government and all of us as legislators are responsive and, crucially, future-proof our laws, society and economy to keep pace with future developments as they happen.

The metaverse is still a relatively new concept in its early stages of development. The full gamut of opportunities, challenges and risks that it is likely to present are still emerging. We can only begin to identify the range and type of measures and regulations that may be needed at this stage. That said, when it comes to seizing the opportunities of digital developments and the mainstreaming of disruptive technologies, we are working on a number of fronts which I believe will also be relevant to the metaverse.

Our new national digital strategy, alluded to by the Senator, is entitled Harnessing Digital: The Digital Ireland Framework and was published yesterday. It is the Government's vision for Ireland as a digital leader at the heart of European and global digital developments. The strategy recognises the importance of measures such as skills policies and infrastructure. These will be vital if Irish enterprise is to seize the opportunities of digitalisation overall, including any that the metaverse will open.

Another important aspect is likely to be setting standards, both within the EU and for the world, to ensure products made here can compete internationally across all realms as well as the metaverse. When it comes to regulation, many of the rules we are devising now have been shaped with future-proofing in mind. For example, the Digital Markets Act prohibits certain behaviours by large gatekeepers that can be added to or reduced if necessary. Similarly, the Digital Services Act establishes a liability regime for providers of digital services, which has stood the test of time and furthermore obliges very large platforms to identify and mitigate risks. Where new risks are created by the metaverse or other virtual realities, they will still need to comply with those provisions.

Of course, the specifics of the metaverse are likely to raise a variety of other issues. Cryptocurrencies, privacy, safety, competition in the market and content moderation are just some of those. Our approach to any new regulation in those areas will be the same as it has been to other digital laws; we will seek rules that are balanced and proportionate, take an ethical approach, promote fair competition and foster innovation.