Parliamentary questions

69. Deputy James O'Connor asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment his strategy to address the rising cost of doing business, in particular for the SME sector; his plans for 2026 that will aim at improving cost competitiveness in areas such as energy, insurance, labour and so on; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13247/26]

70. Deputy Paula Butterly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment to provide an update on progress in the development of a new national life sciences strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13198/26]

71. Deputy Shay Brennan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will ensure the national AI office has a dedicated role for, or a board with members from, disabled people’s organisations and disability organisations, to ensure that the benefits and risks posed by AI for people with disabilities are at the forefront of any policy decisions, particularly the development of AI…

72. Deputy John Clendennen asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment for an update on providing the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission with new powers as set out in the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13288/26]

73. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if there are plans to update the list of critical skills work visas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13325/26]

74. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of bed nights available in each county, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12536/26]

75. Deputy Willie O'Dea asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will ensure that the national AI office will have the necessary levels of independence, technical experts and resourcing to ensure that there are no conflicts between the State’s supports for industry to harness AI, the State’s own deployment of AI, and the design, implementation and enforcement of regulations …

76. Deputy Joe Neville asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the measures his Department has put in place to assist SMEs with rising energy costs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13384/26]

77. Deputy Edward Timmins asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the impact of the proposed Short-Term Letting and Tourism Bill 2025 on rural Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13376/26]

78. Deputy Ken O'Flynn asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the justification for the continued roll-out of the built to innovate initiative, with €6.8 million in public grants approved to date, in the absence of an independent external evaluation and in circumstances where productivity impacts are currently measured only at firm level rather than across the residential constr…

79. Deputy Brian Brennan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment whether he plans to introduce any measures or supports to increase the viability of construction of hotels in rural Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13327/26]

80. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the measures being put in place to help businesses, particularly SMEs, identify their supervisory authority under the distributed regulatory model in the general scheme of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13253/26]

81. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment , to provide a detailed update on his Department’s strategy to reverse the identified €1 billion year-on-year decline in tourism revenue; the timeline for the implementation of the 'A New Era for Irish Tourism' policy, specifically detailing how the €200 million allocated for product development will be priorit…

82. Deputy Michael Cahill asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment his plans for short-term lets; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13373/26]

83. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he would support the establishment of a citizens’ assembly on artificial intelligence digitalisation and technology to facilitate inclusive public dialogue and democratic input on AI policy and ethics; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12897/26]

84. Deputy Aindrias Moynihan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will report on the work of his Department’s small business unit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13382/26]

85. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number of SMEs that have closed in County Meath in each of the past ten years. [12168/26]

86. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if his Department’s emphasis on promoting AI will influence how the proposed Oifig Intleachta Shaorga na hÉireann, or the AI Office of Ireland, approaches its co-ordinating role under the EU AI Act; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13311/26]

87. Deputy Sean Fleming asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will provide for the development of a national AI risk register within the national AI office to identify and monitor systemic risks across sectors; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12950/26]

88. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the immediate measures his Department is taking to mitigate the severe financial pressure on the small and medium enterprise sector following the cumulative impact of the national minimum wage increase to €14.15 and the commencement of the pension auto-enrolment scheme on 1 January 2026; if he will specifically…

89. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment when a new west regional enterprise plan will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12896/26]

90. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the steps his Department is taking to increase the tourism potential of County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12162/26]

281. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the initiatives he or his Department or associated State agencies have taken to encourage prospective new owners to establish a business at the former factory (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13432/26]

282. Deputy Cathy Bennett asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the status of the review of the critical skills occupations list and ineligible occupations list; whether the review will take into consideration the availability of housing in addition to the needs of the labour market; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13433/26]

283. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will outline each section of enacted legislation, where the responsibility lies in the Minister to commence that section, that has not been commenced; if he will outline each section of enacted legislation which provides for the making of regulations by the Minister that have not been made by the Minister; …