Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2026
68. Deputy Naoise Ó Cearúil asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment his Department's assessment of the role of artificial intelligence in enabling increasingly sophisticated forms of online violence against women in public life, as highlighted by recent UN findings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35416/26]
Amharc ar fhreagraI note the important and harrowing UN findings that AI-enabled violence, including deepfakes, manipulated sexual imagery/videos and other forms of image-based abuse, is intensifying existing patterns of harassment and constraining women’s participation in public life.
This is completely unacceptable and must be addressed head on.
I would stress at the outset that Government takes this issue incredibly seriously.
Combatting all forms of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence (DSGBV) is a central commitment. My colleague Minister Jim O'Callaghan has been leading on the implementation of the five-year 'Zero Tolerance' National DSGBV Strategy.
In my own Department, I have responsibility for the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act) which came into force on 02 August 2024. The AI Act aims to promote innovation and uptake of AI, while ensuring a high level of protection of health, safety and fundamental rights, including democracy and the rule of law. It follows a risk-based approach and introduces rules for AI systems based on the level of risk they can pose.
For the unacceptable risk category, the AI Act lists specific practices that are prohibited. Under Article 5, prohibitions include certain manipulative practices and social scoring. More recently on 7 May, provisional agreement was reached between the Council presidency and European Parliament negotiators to add a new provision in the AI act, prohibiting AI practices regarding the generation of non-consensual sexual and intimate content or child sexual abuse material (CSAM). In addition, certain AI systems need to meet transparency requirements including deep fakes which will have to be labelled as AI-generated. My Department worked closely with colleagues across Government to ensure that Ireland, alongside fellow Member States, was a strong and determined advocate for this vital protection.
The AI Act is designed as a flexible and future-proof regulation that allows to adapt the rules to the rapid pace of technological development, as well as the potential changes in the use of AI systems and emerging risks.
More broadly, my officials and I will continue to work with colleagues in the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport in terms of dealing with this issue from an online safety perspective. A robust online safety framework is now in place in Ireland. Coimisiún na Meán has responsibility for implementing that framework, which includes applying and enforcing the online safety code to designated video-sharing platforms established in Ireland to ensure they minimise the availability of harmful online content. Under the lead of the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport, online safety will be a priority during Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU in the second half of 2026, including the protection of women and children, in particular, from the misuse of digital tools.
