Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 June 2026
162. Deputy Albert Dolan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment his strategy for ensuring AI works to the benefit of Irish enterprises and employees; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45346/26]
View answerThe Government’s National Digital and AI Strategy, Digital Ireland: Connecting our People, Securing our Future, sets out a clear roadmap to ensure artificial intelligence delivers tangible benefits for Irish enterprises and employees. We are fully committed to supporting this transition and ensuring that no business or person is left behind.
My focus is on accelerating AI adoption across the Irish enterprise base to help businesses improve efficiency and remain competitive in an increasingly digital economy.
We are promoting responsible and practical adoption through the AI – Good for Business initiative. This includes nationwide roadshows with Local Enterprise Offices, showcasing real-life use cases and connecting SMEs with available supports. These supports include:
• The Grow Digital Voucher, providing up to €5,000 to help small businesses adopt digital tools, including AI;
• The Digital for Business Consultancy Scheme, which offers expert advice and tailored digital roadmaps;
• A network of European Digital Innovation Hubs, supported by €23 million in funding, providing hands-on support to test and deploy advanced technologies;
Looking ahead, we will build on these measures with a targeted sectoral strategy, appointing AI Sector Champions to spotlight opportunities, the establishment of OBAIR (the Observatory for Business AI Readiness) and the Charter for Digital Inclusion, which encourages larger businesses to support smaller ones in adopting digital tools, strengthening the ecosystem for everyone. Additionally, the AI Office of Ireland, set to be established in August 2026, will provide regulatory clarity and leadership, including an AI regulatory sandbox to support innovation in a safe and supervised environment.
A key priority is building awareness and capability. Under the EU AI Act, organisations must ensure an appropriate level of AI literacy among their workforce, and to support this my Department, in partnership with CeADAR, has developed a free online course, “AI for You: Introduction to AI and the EU AI Act”, equipping businesses and employees with the knowledge to use AI safely and effectively.
We also recognise that AI will bring changes to the labour market. Our strategy explicitly supports workers through this transition by prioritising reskilling, career mobility, and inclusive access to digital opportunities. We are expanding access to flexible, high-quality upskilling and reskilling opportunities, including short courses and micro-qualifications delivered by SOLAS and the Education and Training Boards, many of which are free or subsidised through Springboard+, while the AIready.ie platform supports early and inclusive development of AI skills.
Taken together, these measures demonstrate our clear strategy to ensure AI is harnessed as a transformative technology that benefits Irish enterprises and workers, while supporting a fair and inclusive transition across the economy.
