Ms Marianne Cassidy:

Good morning Chair, Deputies and Senators. We welcome the opportunity to brief the committee on the Guidelines for the Responsible Use of AI in the Public Service, which our Department published in May of this year. The Government's public service transformation strategy, Better Public Services, commits to delivering digitally enabled services and functions, using technology to drive change and achieve seamless and inclusive user experiences while supporting digital inclusion. Pillar 1 of Better Public Services focuses on digital and innovation at scale. The AI guidelines form part of the Government's broader commitment under that pillar to harness digital and data to deliver better outcomes for people. They represent the first deliverable under three key policies arising under the new digitalisation mandate of the Department, namely, the AI guidelines, the soon-to-be published digital public service plan 2030 and the public service data strategy 2030. Together, these three policies will underpin the public service effort towards digitalisation as part of the overall national digital and AI strategy, which is currently under development and is being led by the Department of the Taoiseach.

The guidelines are designed as an empowering framework that encourages innovation while ensuring that the deployment of AI in the public service is safe, transparent and aligned with public values. The guidelines are the successor to the interim guidelines on the use of AI, which were published in early 2024. The interim version focused primarily on awareness and risk management at a time when AI capability was evolving rapidly. The new guidelines move from principle to practice, supporting Departments and agencies to responsibly scale the use of AI where it can have real impact. They are closely aligned with the European Union's AI Act, ensuring that Ireland's public administration operates within the same risk-based framework that now underpins AI governance across the EU. This alignment gives assurance that public service bodies in Ireland are developing and deploying AI systems in a responsible manner.

At the core of the guidelines is a responsible AI canvas. This serves as a practical tool that helps public service bodies to consider, at every stage, how an AI system affects the public in the context of fairness, accountability and data quality. It is complemented by detailed guidance on the AI life cycle from problem identification and data curation through to deployment, monitoring, evaluation, decommissioning and refresh. The guidelines also introduce a decision framework to support public servants in determining whether AI is an appropriate and proportionate solution to a given challenge. This ensures that AI is used only where it adds demonstrable public value and that human oversight remains central. To bring these principles to life, the guidelines include use cases from Ireland and abroad across four broad domains. These include internal operations, such as using AI to screen documents; service delivery, where AI can help to tailor interaction with citizens and reduce waiting times; internal and external oversight, including fraud detection, compliance and audit application; and policy making, where AI can support evidence-based analysis and simulation of policy options.

Transformation is not only about the technology but also about equipping the workforce of the future. It is about driving upskilling and building leadership capabilities to deliver better public services. In collaboration with the Institute of Public Administration, IPA, we have introduced a bespoke e-learning module on the guidelines for all staff, an essentials of AI course to build foundational literacy across all grades and a masterclass for decision makers and senior leaders focused on governance, ethics and organisational readiness.

Together, these interventions are building a shared understanding of how AI can be used safely, ethically and responsibly in the Irish public service. The publication of these guidelines represents an important step in Ireland’s approach to responsible public service digital transformation. The guidelines provide the foundation for innovation at scale in a way that strengthens public trust and ensures that technologies serve the public interest.

I thank the committee. I will pass over to my colleague, Mr. Barry Lowry, who will speak about the practical technological support in the public service to further help the scaling of AI.