Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for the information they have given thus far. This is one of the most important hearings we have had. It is an area where people tend to roll their eyes and say this is happening and there is little we can do about it. I do not think that is the case. I welcome the words from Dr. Bambrick and it is important we say again that workers are not looking to turn back the tide. The people are not Luddites. We understand this technology is here but it should not be allowed to steamroll workers' rights. If we do not recognise the potential dangers, we will not be able to mitigate them.

My first question is for Mr. Lupton but I am happy for anyone to come in on it. It relates to the Government strategy, AI - Here for Good. I do not know how the title is intended; more in hope than anticipation, perhaps. It states:

The public ... [service] has already embedded AI into the provision of certain public services, and is also piloting AI applications in a range of areas including agriculture, revenue and health. This has made the delivery of those services more efficient and has provided useful analytic data...

We will be the judge of that. The strategy says the GovTech board will be responsible for regulating the safe use of AI in the public sector. That board is made up of representatives of the enterprise advisory forum, which is made up of big IT companies. There is no one that I am aware of representing workers and human rights, putting a different perspective on this. It seems there is no balance. Is there anything we can do at this stage? Should we look to ensure the GovTech board is stronger or more representative? Is the structure fit for purpose? Because the public service has high levels of union density, the conditions are good and they tend to be the leaders in good practice, though not always. If they are to set the standard, should we ensure the GovTech board is more representative? Is there a different forum where workers' rights, human rights and all of those things can be represented?