Artificial Intelligence: Statements
Seanad Éireann — 2026-01-28
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Niamh Smyth (FF), Cavan-Monaghan

I thank Senators Crowe, Nelson Murray, Scahill, Harmon, Stephenson and Ruane for their really thoughtful contributions. The debate has been very measured, thoughtful and considered. It demonstrates the advantages of AI in terms of its capabilities. It has to be acknowledged that AI has significant potential to allow businesses, particularly SMEs, to grow and scale up.
Equally, the responsibility I have - it bears very heavily on me to do it right - is to ensure that our citizens are protected, that our fundamental values and our values as Irish and European citizens are protected, and that our children are protected. Getting the balance right between doing that and doing what we need to do for enterprise is not an easy tightrope to walk but I am going to walk it and do that as best and as balanced as I possibly can.
We would be putting our heads in the sand if we did not accept that Irish small, medium-sized and larger businesses, and businesses across Europe, feel they have been crippled by burdensome bureaucracy. My vision of what the omnibus can do for Irish and European businesses is to take away some of those layers of bureaucracy and allow the businesses to scale and grow. As Senator Stephenson said, Irish businesses have been founded on good regulation. They are known and trusted for their good regulation. Any of the start-up tech businesses I have met are really keen to get going in Ireland because regulation is good and they know that travels globally.
On the Senator’s point about deregulation, if I thought it compromised in any way the protection of our citizens I would not sleep at night and I would not advocate for it. As I said, I am trying to get the balance right. I think it can be done in a way that ensures that our citizens and our values are protected and, equally, that our businesses are allowed to scale and grow when we take away some of the bureaucracy that has hampered them.
I commend the Senator. I heard her on “Late Debate” one night as I was travelling home and I know how passionately she feels about this. Coimisiún na Meán has certain powers under the Digital Services Act and it will act. It is collating the information. We have very strong laws here in Ireland. It is intolerable and it will not be tolerated. We have some of the most robust laws in Europe around child sexual abuse material. There is no doubt about that. Coimisiún na Meán, working with An Garda Síochána, is pulling together all this information with might and main. I ask Senators to consider that taking enforcement steps and ensuring that companies like X are held to account has to be much stronger if it is done by the European Union and the Commission rather than by little old Ireland on its own. That is not to say that we are in any way trying to walk away from our responsibilities – absolutely not. The job of Coimisiún na Meán on behalf of the nation and the Government is to ensure all the information is gathered. That takes time. I wish it could be done yesterday. I wish it could be done with the immediacy of having it the minute it happens, but unfortunately we do not have that. I do not think any country can say it does. I promise that I am not meeting these agencies for the sake of meeting them. I am meeting them to see that action is being taken. I am happy to see that the European Commission has moved forward and is investigating what happened not only in Ireland but across the 27 member states. I firmly believe the Commission acting on this sends a very powerful message globally about what our values are as European citizens.
I remind everyone in the House that we have established an AI advisory council. It was established before my time as a Minister of State in the Department. Its members are great people. They are experts. These are people from education, with law backgrounds and from industry. They are real experts. It is headed up by Dr. Patricia Scanlon. If do not know if the Senator has heard of her or spoken or listened to her, but she is a woman of a very high moral compass. That is something we all have in this room. We all have a desire to get this right and to protect our citizens. I encourage the Senator and everyone here to have a look at the paper we published through the Department. It was drawn up by experts in the field who are not influenced by anybody. It had four very clear recommendations. I probably will not remember them all now but the most important one, which I think will speak to all the Senators’ points this evening, was that legislation be brought forward on prohibited practices during the European Presidency and we are working to do that. That would broaden the protections for our citizens. That was the council’s recommendation to me and I will act on it.
Another recommendation was that there should be a campaign. Long before she was here, Senator Harmon was a great campaigner and advocate, and she continues that work here. The advisory council recommended a campaign similar to the ones that are being run around consent and the sharing of images. All those types of national campaigns that Coimisiún na Meán has run have been very effective. I am not saying they will stamp it out but I am talking about the human psyche and knowing what is acceptable and what is not, I accept how influenced small children and teenagers are. If they go into their bedrooms at night and have the world wide web in their hand, they can be manipulated. I do not accept the position of any tech company which tells me it is a question of user manipulation or bad actors. I do not accept that. They created the technology. Due diligence is required here. Standards are required. I am making the case, and I do not believe it is falling on deaf ears, that if you can create the technology to do these abhorrent things – this should not be happening in the first place - you have a duty to ensure that standards and safety measures are there to make sure those things cannot happen. I do not buy that it is the users’ fault. I do not buy the argument about bad actors. Of course we know that there are such people but that is a mere distraction from what these tech companies are doing. I promise each and every one of them that I will work to the end on this issue to ensure our citizens are protected.
I thank the AI committee. It brought a full and comprehensive report, including recommendations, to me. We will act on as many of them as we can. I think there were 85 recommendations. I thank it most sincerely for that.
As we pursue our ambitions in AI, I want to acknowledge that rapid technological progress brings real societal challenges, particularly with regard to privacy and the protection of fundamental rights. I know Senator Ruane has always felt incredibly passionate about this matters. The opportunity AI offers is immense but there is a responsibility to get it right. I promise I take that responsibility very seriously. It is important that AI is leveraged both for the greater good in business, in the economy and in wider society. That is why we have been actively working to put enablers and guardrails in place by increasing the awareness and understanding through trusted independent voices such as the AI advisory council. I encourage everyone to read its report. It worked incredibly hard and it gave me that report within days of the issue breaking. The report is very clear and concise. It has four clear recommendations which I intend to follow through on.
Of course the other tasks are to implement the EU AI Act, establish a new AI office here in Ireland and make Ireland’s voice heard in international AI governance forums such as the EU AI board. I have met it and set out our concerns. It is important to use the opportunity we have in the coming months with the EU Presidency. We are working really closely on that. It is great to have that opportunity in the coming months.
Digital and AI technology is transforming every aspect of our lives but not everyone has equal access to its benefits. In 2025, I introduced the charter for digital inclusion. It is a landmark step in Ireland’s mission to create a more inclusive digital society. The initiative emphasised the importance of partnership, particularly the role of larger businesses to support SMEs and to adopt and benefit from digital technologies. The charter reflects the UN’s principle of "leave no one behind" as outlined in Digital for Good: Ireland’s Digital Inclusion Roadmap. It sets out commitments for businesses and organisations to help to close the digital divide by promoting basic digital skills, equality and affordability, by raising awareness and by enabling access to online resources. I invite public bodies, businesses and community organisations to endorse this charter, adopt its principles and join in building a more inclusive digital future for all.
Artificial intelligence is a disruptive technology. I am acutely aware of the concerns regarding the impact of AI on the labour market. Its impact on the future of work is unfolding. The expert group on future skills needs report, AI and the Irish Labour Market, shows that Ireland is relatively more exposed to AI-related disruption than other advanced economies, with high exposure potentially among those with higher education attainment. It indicates that female and younger workers are more likely to be in roles that can be affected.
The research also found that Ireland's enterprise sector and workforce were adapting rapidly to AI, with strong demand for AI skills matched by solid supply. However, support rightly notes that the Government must continue to monitor and address any risks AI may pose to our workforce. I do not ever want anybody to think we are putting our heads in the sand around this. There will be job displacement. Nobody is saying there will not. Working along with the Minister, Deputy Lawless, however, we are establishing the AI observatory, which will look on a research basis at the jobs mostly likely to be affected, try to mitigate against that by upskilling and reskilling, and look in what other directions we can encourage people to go.
My Department, the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, and the National Competitiveness and Productivity Council are undertaking research on the potential impacts of AI on key sectors in the Irish economy. The final report is due to be published early this year. What is clear is that the development of new capabilities and capacities in the workforce will be necessary as it is very likely that new job types will emerge. Ireland has always had an agile and adaptable labour force, however.
Government's priority through targeted investment in reskilling and upskilling initiatives is to empower our workforce with the skills needed to thrive in an AI-enabled economy and meet the demand of evolving roles. We will also create an observatory dedicated to monitoring the use of AI across enterprise, working in tandem with the new national skills observatory. The observatory will guide the development of future enterprise and jobs policies. Through these initiatives, we will ensure that our workforce is supported and equipped to adapt as roles evolve, while enabling our enterprises to stay competitive in an AI-driven economy.
I thank Senators for their forbearance. To conclude, artificial intelligence should drive innovation, but it must be safe, inclusive and trustworthy. I welcome the announcement of the European Commission this week that it has opened an investigation into Grok and the misuse of AI to generate appalling deepfake images. It is a prime example of how trust can be eroded and why governance is so important. The Government will continue to work hand in hand with business, experts and, most importantly, citizens because our vision is clear - to build an environment where AI and digital innovation empower our people and strengthen our economy and society in a way that is ethical, inclusive and sustainable.

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Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-01-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:33+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-28