Maeve O'Connell (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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872. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to report on the work of officials within his Department and update on the launch date for the proposal currently under development on a pilot scheme to incentivise SMEs to participate in lifelong learning, which had previously been expected to be launched at the end of Q1 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27305/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Lifelong learning was one of the four priority areas examined by the 2023 OECD Review of Ireland's National Skills Strategy (www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-skills-strategy-ireland_d7b8b40b-en.html).

The Review noted that SMEs face particular challenges in providing or supporting lifelong learning, as SMEs often lack the resources (time, money, HR function etc.) to help their staff to upskill and reskill. As such, one of the recommendations of the Review was to strengthen incentives for employers to participate in lifelong learning.

Budget 2025 provided €8m for a pathfinder project aimed at incentivising SMEs to participate in lifelong learning. The aim of the SME Incentivisation Scheme is to support small and medium enterprises to upskill and reskill in areas of critical skills needs, which will ensure that the workforce has the necessary skills for the future.

One of the key themes of the recent Competitiveness Council, which my Department was involved in, was the need to support Irish enterprises to scale and prosper, and a lack of supports for SMEs was identified as a key challenge to Ireland’s competitiveness. The SME Incentivisation Scheme would enable enterprises to leverage an appropriately skilled workforce, now and into the future.

My Department has been working closely with Skillnet Ireland to design a targeted and impactful scheme, and it is envisaged that the scheme will be launched in the coming months.

Maeve O'Connell (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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873. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to report on the progress of officials within his Department towards developing a successor to Technology 2022, the third action plan for technology specialists; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27306/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Officials in my Department have started the process of developing Technology Skills of the Future – the Successor to Technology 2022. Technology Skills of the Future will be a Roadmap updated regularly to reflect the impact of technological change on skills needs. The first iteration will focus on specialist digital skills.

My officials are collaborating with the Expert Group on Future Skills needs. The Expert Group is commissioning a study on “Understanding and Forecasting Digital Skills Needs in Ireland to 2030”. This report will be one of the key input informing the Roadmap. The consultancy firm has been selected following a tendering process and the contract will be awarded shortly.