Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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2643.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the proposals to increase capacity and availability of courses in digital forensics at further and higher education levels, in view of the threats to society posed by the proliferation of misinformation through social media platforms, and the need to tackle such abuses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33147/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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At present there are 13 courses across the higher education system which include digital forensics as a key focus. There are approximately 300 graduates from these programmes each year. Higher education institutions do not require my sanction to increase this provision.

My Department is committed to engaging with industry representative bodies and Government Departments to support them in their workforce planning needs. This collaboration is vital – and my Department stands ready to help others articulate the workforce needs, and support the development of solutions to critical skills shortages.

Ireland’s whole-of-Government approach to our digital agenda, including at EU and international level, ensures coherent and impactful delivery. The Cabinet Committee on the Economy and Investment drives the implementation of Harnessing Digital, supported by a Senior Officials Group on Digital Issues, and other sub-groups. Ongoing engagement with stakeholders plays a central part, including regular industry engagement via the Enterprise Digital Advisory Forum, as well as with regulators through the Digital Regulators Group. My Department engages closely in this work.

Ireland takes its role in enforcing digital regulation seriously, and through Harnessing Digital the Government is re-enforcing Ireland’s commitment to a cohesive, well-resourced regulatory framework so as to effectively oversee and enforce regulations. This includes our commitment to ensuring the provision of necessary resources and legislation, as, for example, with the Digital Services Act. Through the DSA and Harnessing Digital my Department supports the work of An Coimisiún na Meán in enforcing the rules set in the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill on misinformation.

As such, combating the proliferation of misinformation is a key focus on a whole of government basis in 2024.

Several projects have been funded via the SFI Discover Education and Public Engagement programme over the last five years that investigate these themes, in HEIs such as TCD, MTU, UL, DCU and TUS, in particular engaging with young people on topics such as:

• Digital Well-being and teenage social media engagement
• AI_InMyLife: AI, Ethics & Privacy Transition Year Workshops
• Cyber Skills Careers