Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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145. To ask the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform the measurement that has been carried out of the impact on carbon emissions of expanding the use of AI in the public service; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28130/25]

Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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My department recently published the ‘Guidelines for the Responsible use of Artificial Intelligence in the Public Service’. These guidelines compliment and inform strategies regarding the adoption of innovative technology and ways of working already underway in the public service, and seek to set a high standard for public service transformation and innovation, while prioritising public trust and people’s rights.

The guidelines set out the Irish Public Service Responsible AI Framework, which reflects the European Commission’s seven key requirements for trustworthy AI, which include ‘Human agency and oversight’, ‘Technical robustness and safety’, ‘Privacy and data governance’, ‘Transparency’, ‘Diversity, non-discrimination and fairness’, ‘Societal and environmental well-being’ and ‘Accountability’.

Under the principle of ‘Societal and environmental well-being’ the guidelines state that, while benefiting from the power of AI, it must be done so in a means that is as environmentally conscious as possible. Government has committed to reducing carbon emissions in line with the Climate Action Plan. As such, the responsible use of AI requires that any environmental harm related to an AI system is mitigated as much as possible.

The EU AI Act (2024) came into force this year with a suite of measures designed to ensure acceptable and transparent use of AI in the private sphere and in public administration, for the benefit of the public, the economy and society.

My colleague, Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Artificial Intelligence and Digital Transformation Niamh Smyth and the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment officials with responsibility for the EU AI Act in Ireland are engaging regularly with Officials in this Department and across Government in the implementation of this important and landmark regulation. For Public Services this is further reflected in the National AI Strategy (2024) Strand 4, and with a focus on increasing capacity and adoption of AI for public service delivery and for evidence-informed policy development.