James Geoghegan (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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276. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the grant agreement for Ireland’s first AI factory antenna has been signed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22068/26]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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With DFHERIS support and co-financing for the project, the AIF IRL-Antenna is being implemented by a national consortium, which includes ICHEC, the Irish Centre for High-End Computing and CeADAR, the National Technology Centre for Applied AI.

I have been advised that preparation of the Grant Agreement has been underway for the last number of months, and it is anticipated that a final version of the Grant Agreement will be available for signature shortly. The European Higher Performance Computing Joint Undertaking has indicated that it will work towards signing the Grant Agreement with a view to enabling the AIF IRL-Antenna Programme to commence in April 2026 as planned.

As the Deputy is aware, AI Factory Antennas connect to established European AI Factories to provide access to their dedicated supercomputing resources and support services.

Ireland’s Antenna will link primarily to France’s AI Factory, with a secondary link to the AI Factory in Luxembourg. Ireland’s involvement in this initiative will significantly boost national adoption of AI, supporting inclusive and affordable access for start-ups, SMEs, public-sector organisations, and researchers.