Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Remaining Stages
Seanad Éireann — 2026-07-15
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Patricia Stephenson (SD), Labour Panel

I move amendment No. 65 a :
In page 37, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following:
“CHAPTER 6
Policy coherence
Report on policy coherence
53. The Minister shall publish, within 12 months of the passing of this Act, a report on policy coherence by Government departments, on the implementation of the Artificial Intelligence Regulation.”.
This is around policy coherence and reporting of same. Amendment No.65 a calls for a report that looks at the coherence in the implementation of the AI regulation across various Departments. As was discussed in relation to amendment No.1, the Minister for justice recently passed legislation permitting the use of biometric analysis by An Garda Síochána. The AI Act contains many safeguards regarding the use of biometric technology by law enforcement. However, the term “biometric analysis” does not feature in the AI Act. We have concerns that it may avoid the safeguards provided for in the regulation by not having that language within it. Using novel definitions of AI technology that are considered high risk in the AI Act is not consistent or coherent with the implementation of the AI regulation.
The implementation of the AI regulation will involve co-ordination across government. AI will affect many, if not all, parts of our lives and it will touch on the responsibilities of a wide range of Departments. There should be a reflection on how effective that co-ordination is to ensure that proper enforcement of safeguards contained in the AI Act. The idea that we have coherent policy across different Departments is fundamental.
When the Minster for justice, Deputy O’Callaghan, was in the Chamber passing legislation with definitions that diverge from the AI Act, he said:
When it comes to domestic Irish legislation we are perfectly entitled to use our own definitions and our own interpretations or interpretation and that is what has been done in this legislation.
The idea that we can choose to define words in any given way in our legislation is quite incoherent and inconsistent with the implementation of the AI regulation. There needs to be a concerted effort to promote that cohesion across different Departments. I hope the Minister of State will consider this amendment. It is simply about making the role she holds easier when coherence is put on a statutory footing.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-07-15/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:52:16+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-07-15