I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this Bill and Deputies Carthy and Devine for the work they have put into it. I also welcome to the Gallery those people who are visiting to listen to this debate. I thank the Government for not opposing this Bill. I welcome that but it is, of course, the very least we can ask. This is a Bill that makes sense. We know Coco's Law has worked over the last number of years. This simple amendment will allow it to keep pace and add some other fixes around access to justice, which are…

There is a lot of talk right now about online safety and regulation. The overwhelming sentiment from the public is that we need to tackle it head on and not be cowed into inaction by big tech. Yet the digital simplification packages as currently drafted stand to erode people's rights, not support them. Is the Department concerned about the package? What steps is the Minister of State taking to raise these concerns at EU level?

I am really frustrated by the Minister of State's reply, as I was by a similar answer given by his colleague the Minister of State, Deputy Smyth, at the AI committee last week. The dogs in the street know big tech cannot be trusted. We have all endured the Grok scandal over the past number of weeks. A recent "Prime Time Investigates" programme reported on how our location data is being sold. Despite all of that, the Government remains stubbornly committed to backing omnibus proposals that give the very tech compani…

The Minister of State telling us simplification is not deregulation is as hollow to me as saying the removal of the triple lock will not affect our neutrality.

It is just misleading. He said in the same breath that it is about relieving the regulatory burden. He must admit that what he is doing is removing regulations and, therefore, removing rights and protections. He referred to stakeholders in his first contribution. Who are those stakeholders? I am fairly sure they are businesses and industry. My problem with the governance we are pursuing in this area is that it is completely driven by the Department of enterprise. It is not considering the broader societal impacts o…

The previous EU-Morocco trade deal was struck down by the European courts because it was found to violate the rights of the Sahrawi people. This new trade deal has entered provisional application, despite persistent concerns around the involvement of the Sahrawi people, and the lack of engagement with or tangible benefit for them. What is the Department's stance on the deal and its compliance with the ruling of the Courts of Justice of the European Union?

I thank the Minister of State. It is comforting to hear that there is activity on the part of the Government on this. The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that the consent of the Sahrawi people had to be sought or that there had to be a tangible benefit for them. Instead of seeking their consent, the EU committed to provide tangible benefit to them and to a regular control mechanism to evaluate the benefit required for implicit consent. Can the Minister of State provide clarity on that control mechanism…

I thank the Minister of State. I would like the Irish Government to champion a pathway for a referendum on self-determination, something which was promised after independence from France decades ago and never actioned. Instead, it seems like the world is keen to move on and ignore it if it means cheaper Moroccan imports and co-operation on migration policy. The Commission's proposals for delivering on tangible benefit as part of this deal include investment in Moroccan companies in Western Sahara, essentially finan…

I had not prepared for this as such but I am keen to get the Minister of State's thoughts on it. It is about whether the Department will prioritise overseas aid and development as a key topic during the EU Presidency. I am sure this is a topic he will happily speak to for two minutes, particularly in the context of decreasing overseas development aid budgets across Europe and the impact those cuts are having on communities across the world.

I agree. It is great to hear that it will be a point of focus for the Minister of State in the second half of this year, when we have the opportunity during the Presidency of the European Union. As he referenced, which I also did in my question, this is obviously within the context of USAID being cut, for example. That is really just storing up problems. It is the definition of storing up problems to cut aid in the way we are seeing this happen across the globe. I question the unconditional aid piece. One of the ot…

On defence without peacebuilding, you can end conflicts and ensure peace and human rights are championed, which builds the off-ramp for war-torn regions. This is concerning for me because earlier this week at the European affairs committee, I pressed Commissioner Serafin on this. It is clear to me that Europe is investing in war and military spending. All of the mechanisms that are available to member states and all the ways we are offering opportunities for development, employment and growth are around the militar…

I share my sympathies and condolences with everybody involved in the terrible accident this morning on North Earl Street. I am contacted regularly by my constituents in Dublin Rathdown about road safety issues. I will focus my comments today on cycling. There are so many topics I want to talk about but this is to get the best use out of my time. People contact me about things like the need for pedestrian crossings, new developments in Carrickmines, the need for traffic calming measures near schools in Churchtown, a…

I echo my party colleague's baffled and confounded response to this legislation. It fails to acknowledge the absolutely dire situation that so many renters are in, the crisis and emergency that this Government has created and the failure of the Government to provide any solutions. The system is pricing people out of renting and this Bill is only going to make matters worse. In my constituency, grown-up people are stuck in their family home, unable to grow any further in their own lives. This Bill represents a false…

It does.

That is untrue. You are so cynical.

You have known that for a decade. You have been in power for a decade and you have not delivered.

I welcome this incredibly timely Bill from Deputy O'Gorman on the regulation of drones because it is long overdue. I share others' concerns that the Government does not agree that it is timely, given that it is kicking it down the road. I want to address the kind of message I get back when I push for greater regulation across the tech space more broadly. I am thinking of online safety and the online platforms, which need to experience greater regulation, similarly in AI, particularly at EU level. Here we have a spe…

I appreciate the confirmation. As we have heard, that is genuinely what people are using them for. That is my point.

Yes, I agree with Deputy Coppinger. If this can save lives by delivering medical equipment-----

Can I continue, please? If this can save lives, make a meaningful contribution to the public interest or help in the delivery of health services or essential public services, I am all for it. I am all for creating a regulatory framework that will facilitate that but what we do not have is exactly that. A regulatory framework is absent; therefore, trivial and mass-scale commercial drone usage is what we will experience. This Bill is a positive step - again, I commend Deputy O'Gorman on bringing it forward at this ti…