Mary Seery Kearney (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I bring good news on matters that have been advocated for in this House. Yesterday the Minister for Justice, Deputy Simon Harris, brought an update to Government and to Cabinet on the Cherry Orchard implementation board. Over the last year and a half, I have been advocating for specific action in the area to support what is a fantastic community of people, proud of where they live and of the people they share a community with. A tiny element has given the area a bad name. They are a minuscule element. The community needed support and we had the announcement by the Minister, Deputy Helen McEntee, of the implementation board just prior to her going on maternity leave. Then yesterday we had the update that the board is now in place. We have a chairperson who will report to the Department of Justice and we have resources that will come in behind that, including a full-time coordinator similar to what was done in Drogheda. The report on Drogheda notes that it has been highly successful. I am really pleased about that.

The board will be made up of local representatives from the HSE, the local authority, the Garda Síochána, Tusla, the Probation Service, the youth services board and the education and training board. There is quite a significant group of people and expertise around the table to support the community and to ensure it has its needs addressed.

I want to endorse Senator Lynn Ruane's call for a debate on AI. I have studied the subject and have qualified in it. For the last few years, I felt like I was part of the tin hat brigade when I spoke about how it was influencing and changing our culture. We have no idea where we are interacting with AI and how pervasive it is in influencing and feeding social media. I am relieved that the debate is becoming mainstream now because previously people sounded mad when they spoke about how influential it is unbeknownst to us.