Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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292. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality to provide an update on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in his Department; the AI technologies the Department uses, the purpose and function of said technology in the context of the work of the Department, and the associated costs of the licensing or use of AI by the Department in the past 12 months, in tabular form. [38622/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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My Department complies with the “Guidelines for the Responsible Use of AI in the Public Service”, published by the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation in May  2025, with guidance issued to all Government Departments in June 2023 by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) in relation to the cyber security aspects, and also with the EU Artificial Intelligence Act.

A comprehensive programme of work is underway to deliver on the Department's ICT strategy to replace legacy and manual processes with new business models underpinned by effective digital solutions. This programme is supporting the organisation to achieve the objectives set out in the 2022 National Digital Strategy, Harnessing Digital: The Digital Ireland Framework.

As part of this modernisation programme, last October my Department deployed a Digital Contact Centre for its immigration customers, which incorporates an AI assistant and smart chatbot using Microsoft Copilot to provide assistance to applicants and staff. In line with public procurement guidelines, my Department procured external services to assist with the delivery of this project, in this instance from EY. The smart assistant is accessed through an authenticated portal on the Immigration Services website. €19,342.54 has been spent on Copilot in the past year.

In implementing this solution my Department has leveraged AI in a low-risk way to offer enhanced digital services including appointment booking and status inquiries to applicants via the portal and to staff via an internal customer service agent query backend application. Staff training on its use has been provided.

My Department also subscribes to an identity verification service, for the purpose of establishing a customer account. This service, ID-Pal, uses AI and machine learning technology to verify in real-time the authenticity of applicants’ identity documents, ensuring that the person is accurately identified.  It does not form part of any application assessment.

I can assure the Deputy that my officials will continue to assess the opportunities presented by all digital tools, including AI, to improve the delivery, security, efficiency, and accessibility of services to our customers. Approval for adoption of any new tools or solutions is subject to appropriate governance processes, including risk assessment.