Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026: Second Stage Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-01 ============================================================ Conor Murphy (SF), Industrial and Commercial Panel Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit. This is an important piece of legislation and is clearly central to establishing the institutions, powers and penalties required to implement the EU AI Act. Under that Act, Ireland is required to have a working regulatory framework in place by 2 August. While this legislation will ensure compliance, it does not alone ensure protection for citizens from the harmful effects of artificial intelligence. There are opportunities for improvement across many aspects of the Bill. Sinn Féin has tabled amendments in the Dáil and will consider the same in this House. We recognise the potential of AI - possibly improved healthcare outcomes, enhanced productivity, better data analytics and automation of repetitive tasks - but we are equally aware of AI's profound capacity for harm. Research by Trademark, an independent social justice organisation based in Belfast, found that 90% of digital infrastructure is controlled by six tech companies. That means the critical infrastructure of the Internet - search engines, cloud storage and communications networks - are owned by private companies accountable only to their shareholders. It is important we see social media platforms for what they are: not neutral spaces, but sophisticated influence systems shaped by algorithms which amplify inflammatory and right-wing content because outrage drives user interaction and interaction generates advertising revenue. Many of us in this Chamber will have experience of being targeted online by faceless accounts. We know bot armies and AI-generated content are used to manufacture the appearance of grassroots sentiment and trained to flood comment sections and drown out dissenting voices. It is obvious there needs to be regulation in this space. Social media companies should be held accountable and responsible for what is on their platforms. Self-regulation is no regulation. Unfortunately, the Government approach to online safety has been piecemeal and weak. The Bill introduces strident enforcement powers including contravention notices requiring compliance, withdrawal or destruction of AI systems, but it will be the implementation of the legislation that will have the real impact. It will be prudent for the Minister of State to ensure regular performance monitoring takes place. The Oireachtas AI committee has been clear that the EU AI Act must be treated as the minimum, not the ceiling. AI development moves far faster than legislation; the Government must be able to respond swiftly to emerging risks. We must protect our democracy to ensure false narratives do not dominate and bot armies do not sabotage democratic discussion online. We must never see a repeat of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, when personal data belonging to 87 million Facebook users was collected by the company for political advertising without informed consent. Tech companies and the applications they build are not neutral; they are designed to make someone a profit. It is the job of the Oireachtas to ensure citizens are not harmed in that process. I look forward to seeing the work of the AI office, which the Bill legislates for. I emphasise that regulation of AI would be better done on an all-island basis. I ask the Minister of State to engage with agencies in the North in the time ahead. --- 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/2026-07-01/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:08+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-07-01