I thank the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach and the Minister of State. I too acknowledge our Chair, Deputy Malcolm Byrne, and other colleagues on the joint Oireachtas AI committee. Before I continue, I will address some of the remarks made by Deputy Gibney because, while I believe they are sincerely held, I do not think they are a true, fair or accurate characterisation of the views of the members of the committee, whether in opposition or government. Deputy O'Rourke's contribution surmises that fact. In fairness, Deputy G…

I am sure the Taoiseach shares my condemnation of the violent assault that took place in Temple Bar, which I know is before the courts so I will not comment on it any further. What we do know is that safety continues to be an ongoing issue in Dublin city, particularly as it relates to retail workers. Obviously, it is not just an issue in Dublin but is nationwide. Over 300,000 people work in retail in Ireland. One of the big asks of the retail sector is that we would introduce specific offences dealing with retail w…

I acknowledge the HSE capital plan that was announced today by the Minister, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, and the Government, particularly the investment across all of our tertiary hospitals, but also in primary care. One particular primary care centre in my constituency, which I campaigned on as a councillor, is the Rathmines primary care centre. It is being co-located on a site where Dublin City Council is building age-friendly housing that will be supported by an approved housing body. I emphasise the impac…

I welcome the decision by the Minister for Education and Youth to pause the review and the support of the Government for that decision. A school in my constituency, Scoil Bhríde, had applied for an additional SNA and was told that not only would it not get an additional SNA, it would lose an SNA that had been with the school. That is a good example of where a school has clearly identified an additional need and the review has gotten it wrong. I acknowledge that the Taoiseach is saying now that appeals should be sub…

I thank the Minister of State for attending to reply on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth. I raise this Topical Issue in relation to a local school in my constituency. It is a very famous secondary school that a lot of people might be familiar with, namely, CBS, Westland Row in Dublin 2. It is a DEIS school that has a very diverse student base. There are children who are living in emergency accommodation, in international protection accommodation, and in many of the neighbouring areas of the city. I ca…

I thank the Minister of State for his response on behalf of the Minister and the Department. I also thank the Minister, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. In the context of any appeal the school may bring, I take note of the link between the significant amount of funds provided for the electrical works scheme and the challenge that, for whatever reason under the Department's system, a downpipe does not meet the necessary threshold that, perhaps, electrical installations, emergency lighting or fire alarms meet. The school …

The Taoiseach will be aware that during the Davos summit remarks were noted by the co-chair of the World Economic Forum that Dublin could be a potential future location for a World Economic Forum event. I raised this as a Topical Issue and the Minister of State, Deputy Dillon, gave the reply of behalf of the Government and made clear that if the World Economic Forum contacted the Government that some kind of event could perhaps be hosted in the context of the EU Presidency. There was reporting in The Irish Times th…

I acknowledge the work that has gone into this Bill. There are two issues I want to raise in respect of it, both of which the Minister is very familiar with. When Simon Harris was elected Taoiseach in April 2024, one of the first pressing concerns he faced was what was effectively a humanitarian crisis taking place on Mount Street because of the proliferation of international protection applicants who simply did not have anywhere to reside. To cut a long story short, agencies that perhaps were not working together …

At a pivotal time of instability in the world, Ireland has a unique opportunity. Ireland is in a strong position internationally as a committed member of the European Union and with our diplomatic and trading relationships with the United States, the UK and China. We occupy a space that few small countries can match. We are a country that can bring people together and create the conditions for constructive engagement. The Minister of State may have seen that yesterday it was reported that the current co-chair of th…

It is really important that we demonstrate ambition and hold up our hand. Our holding of the EU Presidency this year could well be a very good dress rehearsal that enables us to present Ireland in the light in which many of the millions of people working every day of the week in this country see it and who are so proud of what Ireland is, what it represents and of our culture and values. For perhaps the first time in a very long time, the World Economic Forum reminded us yesterday that there is a bit of hope for th…

There were over 99 people arrested and over 82 have been prosecuted in relation to the Dublin riots, a dark day that was the pretext for the creation of the Dublin city task force. It has resulted in a more visible police presence in our city to deliver a safer city. The way in which waste is presented by commercial operators in parts of our city has changed to deliver a clean city. We are trying to get more people living in our city. As part of the task force there is a project under way, in combination with the m…

I welcome the opportunity that has been afforded to all Members of the Dáil to speak on AI. I particularly welcome it in my capacity as Vice Chair of the Oireachtas AI committee. A few moments ago there was a school of young children sitting in the Gallery. I am fairly certain that somebody here thought it wise to perhaps say that this was not a debate that their ears should be listening to in the context of what we have heard this week, so a simple act of child safeguarding took place and the children left the Gal…

The vacant home refurbishment grant has been a hugely successful lever for dealing with the scourge of vacancy and dereliction as there have been over 15,000 applications. However, it was reported during the week that there is a proposal to cap the grant at €650,000, which would have a hugely disproportionate impact on Dublin where close to one in four properties currently would not be eligible to receive that grant. I would ask bluntly whether this figure is under consideration. I hope it is not. I really hope a d…

First, I congratulate the Minister of State on her appointment to her new role as Minister of State with responsibility for disability at Cabinet. It is a very important and challenging role. The issue I am discussing is not unrelated insofar as it concerns the safeguarding of children. Some weeks ago, the CEO of Tusla appeared before the Committee of Public Accounts. We probed her in respect of the issue of unaccompanied minors seeking international protection and how they are cared for within a Tusla setting. At …

I thank the Minister of State for this very comprehensive reply given on behalf of the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan. The challenge, as we await new legislation and what seems to be a new announcement I had not seen before, is that age assessment will be governed by regulations pursuant to this new legislation, the International Protection Bill, but the number of unaccompanied minors does not appear to be on the decline. In fact, it seems to be the opposite. The risks will continue to rise and while I understand eve…

Officials from Tusla and the Department of justice were before the public accounts committee in recent weeks. Tusla alerted us to concerns it has in respect of its capacity to carry out age verifications for unaccompanied minors in the international protection application system. It seems, at a policy level, that it is being left to Tusla to carry out these age verifications, whereas as a matter of law, there is at least some doubt as to what body is actually legally responsible for doing so. None of the officials …

What progress has been made by the Department on the creation of an operational AI regulatory sandbox by 2 August 2026, in line with the EU AI Act?

I thank the Minister of State for the reply. He indicated the establishment of the AI office will be crucial in respect of the regulatory sandbox. I look forward to primary legislation being introduced on this and to it coming before the Committee on Artificial Intelligence, of which I am Vice Chair. One of the things that struck me when we were in Estonia recently at a digital summit was just how far ahead some other EU countries are in the adaptation of AI. What the Department is doing in respect of ensuring smal…

In the enterprise sector, work is under way and has been done historically in Ireland when it comes to attracting investment and technology companies here. Now we see in Ireland the work Enterprise Ireland has done in supporting the hyper scaling of technology companies and start-ups. We saw some measures in the budget and, hopefully, there are more to come in future to support the emergence of an indigenous technology industry here. Some of the steps we have taken could be adapted in other Departments. Perhaps we …

Deputy O'Flynn has left the Chamber but unless I misheard him, he said that when we walk through our villages, they do not reflect Irish society. I am not sure what he meant by that but I cannot imagine how it could be interpreted as anything other than inflammatory. It really puts into stark contrast the labels that have been thrown at my party leader for the measured remarks he has made in respect of how we deal with the international protection system and with migration. Like others in this House, I utterly cond…