Mr. Joe O'Brien:

I thank the Cathaoirleach. Apologies for the confusion regarding the start time. I am largely here in an introductory role. My colleague, Dr. Kris Shrishak, and I thank the committee for the opportunity. The ICCL is unusual in the community and voluntary space in that we have had for a number of years a very high level of expertise in AI, with Dr. Shrishak, which stems from our experience with the breach of other European regulations like GDPR by big tech. We could see that this was going to be an issue into the future. Dr. Shrishak will do the bulk of the presentation. He will highlight two key elements where the State plays a major role and where this committee can act in the coming weeks and months. Those two areas are the State's responsibility in the use of AI in public services and the State's role in establishing an effective regulatory ecosystem to enforce EU laws on AI.