Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 February 2026
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]
View answerAs the deputy is aware Oifig IS na hÉireann (the AI Office of Ireland) will be a new statutory independent body under the aegis of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment with a number of clear functions.
Reflecting Ireland’s approach of adopting a distributed model for supervision and enforcement the Office will act as the central co-ordinating body for the implementation of the EU AI Act in Ireland. As the central co-ordinating body for the implementation of the EU AI Act, the office will leverage the experience and expertise of regulators across all sectors to ensure that when AI is deployed it is done so in a responsible and ethical manner.
Other key functions of the Office include:
- Acting as the Single Point of Contact for the EU Commission, competent bodies, the MSAs and for the public;
- Hosting a centralised pool of technical expertise to support all competent authorities;
- Ensuring the establishment of an AI Regulatory Sandbox, initially focused on regulatory guidance; and
- Promoting strategic and safe AI innovation and adoption across the economy and society with outreach, communication and education around AI literacy being a focus of the AI Office.
In addition, Ireland will shortly publish the new national AI & Digital Strategy, which will have a whole-of-Government approach covering the pillars of infrastructure, enterprise, skills and public services, with an emphasis on responsible, ethical, AI development and governance.
