Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 December 2025
195. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment when the regulatory sandbox for artificial intelligence will be operational; if joint establishment of a sandbox with another member state would be considered; the sectors that will be prioritised; and when Irish SMEs will be able to apply to participate. [72743/25]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, the EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) entered into force in August 2024 and establishes a harmonised regulatory framework for AI systems developed or deployed in the EU. Its provisions will apply in a phased manner through to August 2027. The Government is fully committed to the comprehensive and timely implementation of all aspects of the AI Act, including the establishment of the national AI regulatory sandbox.
The AI Act stipulates that Member States should ensure that their competent authorities establish at least one AI regulatory sandbox at national level, to be operational by 2 August 2026. This obligation can also be fulfilled by participating in a joint programme with other Member States.
Government has agreed to adopt a distributed model of competent authorities, utilising the State's established sectoral regulatory bodies to undertake supervisory and enforcement functions under the AI Act. My Department is coordinating national implementation efforts across Government, working with colleagues in other departments to establish the optimal configuration of competent authorities to ensure comprehensive, robust and efficient implementation in Ireland. To date, thirteen public bodies have been designated as market surveillance authorities and four as notifying authorities. My Department has been designated to act as Ireland's Single Point of Contact, as required by the AI Act, to facilitate coordination and provide centralised functions for the distributed model until the AI Office of Ireland is established on a statutory basis.
The new AI office of Ireland will act as the central coordinating body for EU AI Act and provide a focal point for the promotion and adoption of transparent and safe AI in Ireland, to help leverage the strategic opportunity that AI presents. This office will help facilitate coordination among regulators, while the enforcement of the AI Act remains the responsibility of the designated, sectoral regulators. The AI Office of Ireland will also be responsible for ensuring competent authorities establish a national AI regulatory sandbox.
The EU AI Board, a governance body of the AI Act, has established a dedicated subgroup to provide guidance on the role out of AI regulatory sandboxes across the EU. My officials are actively participating in that subgroup which will inform to protocols and practices necessary to establish the operation of the national AI regulatory sandbox.
My Department will also continue to engage with the European Commission, other member states, industry, and our regulators to explore opportunities for collaboration and participate in a joint AI regulatory sandbox. However, our immediate priority is to ensure that domestic capabilities are securely established for this pioneering project. This approach also reflects the consensus view among Member States that establishing effective domestic sandbox frameworks remains the priority to meet the August 2026 deadline.
The AI Regulatory Sandbox aims to help Irish businesses, especially SME's and startups, across all sectors to understand and navigate the AI regulations they need to comply with, in order to bring new products and services to the market. The Sandbox activity will also provide hands-on opportunities to Irish regulators to gain greater insights into the ongoing trends and developments within the AI systems in Ireland.
It is important to note that throughout the process of developing the AI Act, consideration has been given to the circumstances and needs of SMEs. Member States must provide priority access to the AI regulatory sandboxes for SMEs as well as establish dedicated channels for communication to support SMEs throughout their development journey by providing guidance and responding to queries about the implementation of this Regulation.
