Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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The opportunities presented by Artificial Intelligence are unlike any from previous technological advances due to the pace of progress, and its potential for transformative impacts on our society and economy, for our collective good. AI presents opportunities for beneficial impacts across our society and economy, including in the delivery of public services, healthcare, scientific discovery, sustainability, agriculture, transport, and mobility.

Ireland’s National AI Strategy, "AI – Here for Good", was published in July 2021, and a progress report was published in August 2023. The overall aim of the Strategy is to drive the development and adoption of trustworthy, person-centred AI for economic and societal good. It sets out actions for a range of government Departments and agencies, across seven strands: society, governance, enterprise, education and skills, research and innovation, public service and infrastructure.

My Department is responsible in particular for implementing the elements of the Strategy that relate to AI adoption in enterprise. Growing the use of digital and AI technologies by businesses will help to build the resilience of our enterprise base as we look to future-proof our economy. For businesses, investment in digitalisation and AI brings increased efficiencies, reduced costs, enhanced customer services, and increased competitiveness.

The Digital Transition Fund accounts for €58 million of the €85 million in funding under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) that is focused on Digital Transformation of Enterprise, and which is funded by the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF). The fund is administered by Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta through a range of schemes to boost uptake of digital and AI technology.

Ireland’s four European Digital Innovation Hubs (EDIHs), CeADAR, FactoryxChange, ENTIRE, and DATA2SUSTAIN are part-funded by the RRF and the Digital Europe Programme. EDIHs support the digital transformation of enterprise, in particular SMEs, and also public sector organisations. The EDIHs act as “one stop shops” providing access to technical expertise and experimentation, financing advice, training and skills, and information on the innovation ecosystem and networking. CeADAR, as Ireland's national centre for AI, has a key role to play in supporting SMEs in adopting AI.

In January of this year, I established the AI Advisory Council. The Council has experts from academia, business, law, security, social sciences, economics, and civil society. It will provide independent, agile advice to government, and its members will participate in public engagement to promote the development and adoption of trustworthy AI.