2026-04-28

131. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the way in which his Department is ensuring that small- and medium-sized enterprises can move from AI awareness initiatives into measurable productivity gains from AI adoption; the changes that are required on current schemes to ensure sufficient scale and design; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30424/26]

AI is no longer evolving year on year but rather month on month. Businesses are now encountering agentic and autonomous AI systems that can plan, act and execute workflows. While larger firms are moving more quickly, SME adoption is lower and more uneven. That risks embedding a two-speed economy. Will the Minister of State set out how current AI supports are being adapted and scaled to help SMEs to move beyond pilots and entry-level tools and into more measurable and productive approaches?

I thank the Deputy for his important question. The Government is committed to ensuring Irish businesses can adopt and benefit from Al. Many firms, particularly at an early stage of adoption, are seeking practical guidance on applying Al across core business functions. In response, my Department works closely with the enterprise agencies to develop practical guidance, case studies and sector-specific examples that demonstrate the tangible business benefits of Al. The recently published national digital and Al strategy, Digital Ireland - Connecting our People, Securing our Future, sets out a clear roadmap for Ireland's digital and Al development and includes actions to support Al readiness across enterprise. Evidence points to rapid progress. Research from the expert group on future skills needs shows that Al usage and demand for Al roles have doubled since 2023, with strong skills demand matched by supply. CSO data shows over 20% of enterprises used Al in 2025, up from 15% in 2024, while the European Commission's 2025 digital decade report indicates that 13.8% of Irish SMEs use Al, above the European average and up from 8% in 2023. My Department is also working with the ESRI to assess Al take-up among SMEs, including barriers to adoption and investment. A key priority of the new strategy is accelerating technology adoption among enterprises, especially SMEs. Under the Government's Al good for business initiative, a national Al and digital awareness roadshow is being delivered in partnership with our local enterprise offices, LEOs. The roadshow helps SMEs to understand the practical benefits of Al and digital tools, showcases real SME success stories and highlights available LEO supports. The initiative also includes the appointment of Al sector champions and the establishment of OBAIR, the Observatory for Business Al Readiness.

We already see evidence that many SMEs are stuck around entry-level AI adoption. Most businesses planning AI investments are expecting to spend under €10,000. That is typically on more basic content creation and basic marketing rather than on deeper, productive gains through workflow automation and supply chain optimisation, for example. At the same time, Ireland remains mid-table, just above average, in EU business AI adoption. That is behind countries like Denmark and Finland. How will existing schemes, through the likes of Enterprise Ireland, the LEOs and Údarás na Gaeltachta be redesigned or scaled up to support deeper AI integration in SMEs instead of fragmented, one-off or pilot schemes? How will the Department measure whether those interventions are actually delivering productivity gains at a company level?

We have work to do to ensure that the whole SME sector is open to and embracing AI tools. If they are not embracing it and looking at digitalisation in their companies, they are set to lose and the divide between the successful and businesses that will fall behind and may ultimately fall off will come down to their ability to adopt technology. We have a suite of measures to try to make that job easier. I am always keeping a close eye on the uptake of those grants to see how businesses are engaging with them. This LEO roadshow is incredibly important because it gives not just the Department's supports but also the LEOs', which are incredibly important at a local level. The case studies and, for me, meeting businesses and doing these roadshows is key, where businesses can see businesses like theirs and the difference that adoption makes.

I want to move the focus towards job protection. The real risk from AI is not so much AI itself as the poorly managed adoption of AI. Where we have seen agentic and autonomous systems, as I mentioned earlier, they must not just assist with the work but should carry out tasks and co-ordinate workflows. Where people are trained to supervise and validate the work alongside the AI, productivity can grow; where that training is absent, it looks like the AI will almost substitute for the person. Smaller businesses are expected to redesign roles, supervise autonomous systems and comply with the EU AI Act, and to do all that at speed. How are AI initiatives being accelerated beyond basic literary into practical job-protecting capabilities? How are these skill supports being used to help SMEs manage change without job displacement?

It is true there will be disruption in the labour force and in business because of AI. The disruption and impact will be greater if businesses do not embrace AI. We have the observatory piece in our Department, OBAIR, which is looking at mitigating that. The AI will impact the workforce required. We will look at how to retrain and upskill staff so they are not left facing redundancy or anything like that. I am not in denial, and I do not think anybody in government is in denial, about the impact this will have. Our colleague, the Minister, Deputy Lawless, launched this week AI Ready which is to get down to the nitty-gritty with individuals in the workforce so nobody feels a digital divide and to help people who want to explore AI to upskill within a business. That is all part of our suite of measures in place to help the worker and the company.