Minister O’Donovan attends meeting of EU Telecoms Ministers and meets with European Commissioner Virkkunen to discuss online safety and resilience
- Published on: 30 April 2026
- Last updated on: 30 April 2026
- Minister O’Donovan highlights the need to increase safety of children online
- Minister O’Donovan meets with EU Ministers and European Commissioner Virkkunen to discuss online safety and preparations for Ireland’s Presidency of the EU.
The Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan TD, today represented Ireland at an Informal meeting of EU Ministers for Telecoms, in Nicosia, Cyprus, hosted by the Cypriot Presidency of the EU.
At the meeting, the Ministers discussed accelerating the widespread adoption of trustworthy AI. During the discussion, Minister O’Donovan emphasised that this will be a central priority for the upcoming Irish presidency of the council, to solidify Europe’s position as a global leader in applied AI.
Minister O’Donovan also engaged in a discussion on the resilience of critical infrastructure. The debate touched on limiting the impact of power outages on telecoms services and the importance of cooperation between Member States.
Minister O’Donovan also met bilaterally with Commissioner Henna Virkkunen, European Commission Executive Vice President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, to discuss age verification and protecting children online and Ireland’s priorities for the Presidency of the EU. Moreover, he stressed the need for increasing investment in subsea telecoms connectivity which will improve submarine cable security and resilience throughout the Union.
Speaking after the meeting, Minister O’Donovan said:
“I welcome this timely and important discussion, hosted by the Cypriot Presidency of the EU.
“I had a fruitful exchange of views with fellow EU Ministers on age verification and online safety for children and I discussed these issues bilaterally with Commissioner Virkkunen.
“I am particularly pleased to participate in the discussions on strengthening protection of minors online. The protection of children and young people online is a fundamental concern of our time and is of such importance that I am making it my priority under Ireland’s Presidency of the EU. I look forward to the discussions and listening to the views of my colleagues from the other Member States on the key matters of age verification, the digital age of majority and the regulation of generative AI systems and AI chatbots.”