On February 19, 2025, Minister for Trade Promotion, AI and Digital Transformation, Niamh Smyth TD, addressed Dáil Éireann on the topic of “Maximising AI for our greater good, in business, in the economy and in wider society”.

Key Highlights of the Minister’s Address

AI Opportunities Across Sectors Minister Smyth outlined the transformative impact AI is already having across various sectors, including:

• Healthcare: Robotic surgery, AI-assisted diagnostics for blood diseases and cancers, and medical image analysis.
• Sustainability: AI-enabled smart grids to optimize energy efficiency and monitor carbon emissions.
• Agriculture: AI tools predicting disease outbreaks in herds and optimizing farming practices.
• Public Sector: Pilot projects testing AI use cases for enhancing public services.

Government Strategy and AI Adoption Goals

The Minister emphasized the government’s ambition to have 75% of Irish enterprises using AI, cloud, and data analytics by 2030. Recent data shows AI adoption among enterprises rose from 8% in 2023 to 14.9% in 2024, but Minister Smyth stressed that more work is needed.

CeADAR’s Role in AI Development

A standout mention in the Minister’s speech was CeADAR — Ireland’s Centre for AI.

CeADAR plays a crucial role as:

• Ireland’s European Digital Innovation Hub for AI
• An EI/IDA Technology Centre
• A bridge between AI research and commercial deployment

Minister Smyth encouraged businesses to explore CeADAR’s upskilling and training opportunities, specifically highlighting our newly launched online course: “AI for You: Introduction to AI and The EU AI Act”. This course aims to boost AI literacy and promote AI adoption across both public and private sectors.

Supporting SMEs and AI Innovation

Recognizing the challenges faced by SMEs, the Minister noted that the updated National AI Strategy prioritizes making AI accessible to smaller businesses.

Minister Smyth’s address reinforced the Irish government’s dual commitment to fostering AI innovation while ensuring its ethical and responsible use.

As AI continues to evolve, initiatives like CeADAR’s training programs will be vital in helping Irish enterprises embrace this transformative technology.

For more information, and to sign up for our course visit Skills & Training

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