Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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I thank the witnesses for their contributions so far. I find it really interesting not only because IHREC is the Article 77 body but also because I think it has a lot to offer, as a State agency, in giving its views on governance, particularly because IHREC is governed by the Paris Principles, which I will get onto in a second. I want to start on the public sector duty because Mr. Herrick has been very clear that this is a missed opportunity for the State to essentially enshrine this within the public sector guidelines that were drafted for the use of AI in the public sector. This is not the only time that this duty has been overlooked by the State in the development of guidelines or initiatives, all of which could potentially be strengthened by the positive obligation that was set out in the 2014 Act. I know this is slightly outside of the remit of this meeting, but it is important because it gives the broader question more understanding. Why is the body not taking hold in that way from a central government perspective in the way IHREC would wish?