Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-22
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

Just in case there is any confusion I am agreeing with the Deputy in principle entirely that the responsibility here has to be on the company. The way that has been transposed into national legislation has been under the infrastructure of the AI Act. This Government will work constructively with the Deputy, with his party and with his committee on any improvements or changes we can make to Irish legislation. I too do not care where the idea comes from or who has the good idea or the best idea because we all want to do the same thing. What we have seen here is dehumanising, degrading and disgusting. It has had a real, profound impact on many people in the country and across the world. People have been directly impact and there is also the chilling and general disgusting feel people have sensed from the abuse of technology and from AI. We need to act and we will act. The committee hearing yesterday was a useful and important starting point. The recommendations of our AI advisory group are also good. These are the experts in this area. That is why we convened our meeting this week. It is why the Minister is due to report to Government. I will ask the Minister to proactively engage with Deputy Kelly and all the Opposition parties because we need to pull together on this and show Ireland can absolutely lead in innovation but we can also lead in protecting our values, protecting children, protecting women and making sure technology is never abused.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-22/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:32+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-22