Paul Donnelly (Dublin West, Sinn Fein)
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34. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment whether he has engaged with a group (details supplied); and has any progress made on legislation to meet some of their asks. [6601/25]

Alan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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While I have not had the opportunity to engage with this group and have not received correspondence from them, I am very conscious that the Night Time Economy brings social and economic benefits to towns and villages across Ireland. It is an important driver of tourism, contributes to our economy, our culture and creative sectors.

Shane Moynihan (Dublin Mid West, Fianna Fail)
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35. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment his priorities for 2025 in the areas of artificial intelligence and digital transformation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6367/25]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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We now have a number of targeted supports in place to drive increased adoption of technology among businesses. Our approach this year will be to drive awareness through our Enterprise Agencies, the LEO network, and the business representative bodies.

While Tech companies are rapidly adopting new technologies, much of my Department’s focus is on driving increased usage of AI among small businesses in the non-tech sectors and domestically trading businesses. We continue to help companies to embrace both basic level digital tools for driving efficiencies and productivity and for marketing and selling online, and also to invest in more sophisticated tools where appropriate for their business.

The Grow Digital Portal has a case study catalogue with digital success stories showcasing how different (non tech) businesses have embraced digital solutions to boost their operations. My Department are promoting the case studies across social media to reach as many businesses as we can, on LEOs websites and the department’s website.

My officials are also working with business representative groups to develop a collaborative campaign to increase Digital and AI adoption among micro and SMEs. Again, case studies will play an important role in inspiring others to use digital tools.

My Department is leading on the national implementation of the EU AI Act and this is also a priority.

The AI Act’s risk-based approach means that only those systems giving rise to the most significant risks to health, safety and fundamental rights will be subject to its rules and obligations.