Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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415. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the funding put in place for the establishment of an AI observatory; whether any of that funding has been drawn down; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39102/25]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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The AI Advisory Council submitted a report entitled Ireland’s AI Advisory Council Recommendations – Helping to Shape Ireland’s AI Future to the Government in February of this year.

The report outlines the Council’s position on key opportunities and strategic policy recommendations to accelerate AI adoption in Ireland while safeguarding our economy, competitiveness, workforce, and society.

One recommendation of the Council is for Ireland to establish an AI Observatory.

I fully agree with the Council that an Irish AI Observatory would greatly assist government to develop and implement national AI priorities in the years ahead.

AI is evolving rapidly, and its impacts are difficult to predict. An AI Observatory could deliver invaluable real-time data and insights on a wide range of AI metrics in Ireland, including labour market dynamics, skills needs and public attitudes.

It is planned to include this in the Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity which is currently being developed.

As the proposal for an AI Observatory is in the very early stages of initial scoping and it will take time to fully develop a plan, no funding has yet been allocated

Sinéad Gibney (Dublin Rathdown, Social Democrats)
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416. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment for an update on the establishment of an AI office; whether this office will be an independent body; and the remit the office will have. [39103/25]

Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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As per the Government decision Ireland has adopted a distributed model for the implementation of the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. As part of the implementation it will be necessary to establish a central and coordinating authority to ensure the effective and coherence governance of the AI Act in Ireland.

My Department, in consultation with officials across the wider government system, are currently considering in detail the role and responsibilities required of, and the provisions necessary to operationalise, a central and coordinating authority which must be in place by August 2026.

This new authority will have a key role to play in governance and co-ordination of the AI Act; will act as the Single Point of Contact; and will host technical expertise and drive AI innovation. In addition, to support the planning and implementation of this new central and coordinating authority my Department has appointed a leading consultancy firm to work with my officials in this regard.

It is intended that this new central and coordinating authority will be established in legislation as an independent statutory body to coordinate enforcement of the Act, subject to Government approval. In the interim period, in order to adhere to the challenging implementation timeline of the AI Act, it is envisaged that the central and coordinating authority would operate within my Department.