Ms Jean Carberry:

I will make two points. First, a strong and consistent regulatory regime has been a priority of Government for many years, and our Department has consistently driven home the message that it is the strategic imperative we have a well-resourced and coherent regulatory regime. A memo went to Government yesterday again making that point. I am sure members are aware that under the Digital Services Act, Ireland is now the de facto regulator of 13 of the 19 largest platform companies. Consistently, our Minister has delivered the message that we will put whatever resources it takes to execute this well and maintain our reputation in Europe. It is a really important part of what we bring to the table as a digital leader that we have a well-resourced, consistent and coherent regulatory regime.

The AI Act is still in trilogues, but the version that has come out of both the Parliament and the Council focuses on the regulation of the use of AI. That means the version of the AI Act at the moment will not be looking at the developers or the large companies that are propagating these AI systems but will be regulating the way they are used. However, the final version of the Act is still open. What was debated in Council and Parliament predated ChatGPT. We have had a revolution with a much faster deployment of this general purpose AI than had been expected. I anticipate there could be some changes to the Act which might result in some onus on us. Effectively, these types of models are coming from four or five of the large companies we are all aware of, many of which are headquartered here. If it is the case we need to directly regulate those companies that are developing these new AI models, I assure the committee that it will be the number one priority to ensure that regulatory regime is fit for purpose when it is required. I cannot say at this time who the regulator will be. However, based on how the AI Act is currently drafted, much of the onus will fall on the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, CCPC.