Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026: Committee Stage
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-09
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

Yes, policy development rests with Ministers, but it is normal for State bodies to come in and present their opinion on policy and how it impacts their ability to do their jobs. That is linked. They are not separate things. I do not get it. What the Minister of State said about going to PAC and talking about the accounting, budgeting and books is fine. However, poor policy often leads to wasteful spending. We often hear those discussions coming out in PAC in various areas because, again, they are inextricably linked. We cannot say that witnesses are just going to come in to talk about the books or their overspending or underspending and the nuts and bolts of financial management. That is linked to the policy delivery. Again, I do not understand it. It is a bad precedent to be setting. They are responsible for making assessments as well, presumably. If we are talking about innovation and literacy, those things are linked. The responsibility of the office is linked to those things. It feels like we are trying to reduce accountability and transparency, which is the opposite. That is not good practice.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-09/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:11+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-09