Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

There is also IDA Ireland. We often feel that rural constituencies are forgotten compared with the more urban centres, and this can be true, but in my role I will certainly do everything I can to ensure we support and provide access and, more importantly, that we listen, as I am doing here today, to what the concerns are.

I can tell Senators quite honestly that in the few short months since I have gone into the Department the Minister, Deputy Burke, has been relentless. I do not just say this; people can look at his diary. He has been relentless in holding forums with business people, with RGDATA and the Family Business Network. Yes, the big businesses are there too but the smaller ones definitely have a voice at those tables. At any forum I sit at, and we have spoken about the cost of doing business forum, I will ensure, and the Minister has agreed to do this, that smaller enterprises and their representatives are at all of the tables.

Senator O'Loughlin spoke about digitalisation and AI. For me, the real opportunity for businesses is to take out the mundane repetitive piece to allow them to see what they can do or how they can give themselves more time to reflect, imagine and promote their businesses. We all know, as people who are part of these businesses or who are a cog in a very big wheel, time is so precious. When people are running their own business they have to be HR, the person who creates the timetable and the person who places the order for the goods to come in, and they have to be there to make sure returns are done. I hope, and it is my intention, the AI tools we can support businesses to get will engage-----