Prohibition of Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems Bill 2026: Second Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-06-17
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Laura Harmon (LAB), Industrial and Commercial Panel

I thank the Civil Engagement Group for its work in bringing forward this important Bill. It has the full support of the Labour Party and the Cross-Party Group in the Seanad. It is a Bill that deals with what is fast becoming one of the most pressing issues of our time, which is the proliferation of autonomous weapon systems. We are already seeing the rapid expansion of the use of these systems in conflicts, wars and illegal wars across the world. The illegal bombing campaign waged on Iran by Trump's America and Netanyahu's Israel in recent months was the moment we first saw these weapons used at such a mass scale but it was not the first time they have been used. The wars in Ukraine, Gaza and Lebanon have also seen artificial intelligence used for the targeting of strikes.
However, the scale we saw in the attacks on Iran was new. In the first 24 hours of the US-Israel waged war, the US struck over 1,000 sites in Iran. That was an assault twice the size of the initial attacks of the Iraq war 23 years ago and was enabled by these systems and by AI. We have now clearly entered a world where powerful men without any respect for international law are not just waging illegal wars but are able to do so with a brutality and magnitude that was unthinkable before the development of advanced AI. That is not to say that unthinkable acts and wars did not take place before this but this is the scale that we are dealing with now because of these systems and this technology.
There are obviously significant ethical issues here. In recent years, we have seen international law undermined at every turn and leaders operating with impunity. AI weaponry threatens to pour fuel on that fire. Fundamentally, when AI makes a mistake in a conflict, who can we hold responsible? For those of us who have not yet given up on the conviction that international justice and international law are our only way to ensure peace and prosperity, this is not an academic question. It is vitally important for the future of humanity.
Last month, as Senator Higgins said, Pope Leo spoke out against the use of AI in war and on this I agree with him. It is not clear whether the horrific strike on a girls' school in southern Iran on the first day of the war was targeted using AI or if it was the result of a shocking human error but there is at least some faint hope that somehow, someday, justice could be delivered if a human is found responsible. If it was an AI system that picked that target, where does that leave us?
It is also most worrying that we are seeing the targeting of other minorities in recent wars and illegal wars. The gamification of disabled people is one example of what is happening. This is extremely worrying and is a matter we should all be concerned about.
We cannot ignore that there are fundamental existential questions for us as a species. Handing over the control of deadly weapons to unaccountable machines, with seemingly no guard-rails, is something we should all agree is unacceptable.
We can have no faith, however, that the hubristic, narcissistic leaders in ultimate control of these systems are giving this the slightest thought at this point. This was made crystal clear by the vicious way the Trump Administration responded when, earlier this year, the AI company Anthropic asked the US military to put in place the simplest safeguards for the use of its models in autonomous warfare. Clearly, men like Trump have no interest in any limits or safety measures on the use of these weapons systems, and this should worry us all deeply.
Turning to today’s Bill, Ireland cannot be complicit in this chilling new form of war. The Bill will ban the use, sale and transit of autonomous weapons or their components in Ireland. This is a crucial step in maintaining our neutrality and our moral standing in the world. Ireland has been a leader on disarmament for many decades and it is essential that we lead from the front as the sinister use of automated weaponry is rapidly expanding. We simply cannot allow our country to be complicit.
The Government is on record as agreeing that this is the new front in the disarmament movement. Last year, the Tánaiste told the Dáil that Ireland regards the area of autonomous weapons systems as one of the most pressing issues facing the modern disarmament agenda. If the Government is serious in that sentiment, then it needs to not just not oppose this Bill but to fully back it and commit to backing it on all Stages in both Houses. We need to see work globally to push for a treaty banning these weapons and we need to see it urgently. Ireland also needs to lead from the front. We need to make it clear that we will not be complicit in the use of these weapons before any treaty can be agreed. This is why we must back this Bill.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-06-17/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:04+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-06-17