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. 70:
In page 40, between lines 35 and 36, to insert the following:
“(3) Should the Office be the subject of the complaint in question, the Office shall ensure its assessment under subsection (2) is conducted by an independent person appointed by the Office.”.
As a regulator, complaints against the office should be dealt with independently. This section deals with complaints with market surveillance authorities. If the complaint is about the office, it should not investigate itself. That feels like a no-brainer. It aims to address any potential conflict of interest where the office is effectively subject to a complaint concerning an infringement of the AI regulation. While the AI office would ordinarily be responsible for assessing the complaints, if the complaint concerns the office's own actions or decisions, it would be put in a position of reviewing and assessing a complaint about the office itself. The amendment, therefore, proposes that in such circumstances, the assessment is carried out by an independent individual appointed by the board of the AI office as opposed to the office itself so that there is an appropriate gap between who is carrying out the assessment of a complaint and the subject of the complaint. Where the office is itself the subject of a complaint, we are of the view that it is incredibly inappropriate for the office to assess that complaint internally as this risks creating a conflict of interest. Requiring an independent person appointed by the board to conduct the assessment will strengthen confidence in the complaints process, ensure impartial decision-making and help maintain trust in the State's AI regulatory framework. I know that this came through in the Dáil as well and the Minister of State did not accept there. This is a good and sound amendment that will bring about independence, accountability and fairness within the system. We need the public to trust the AI office. The Minister of State would agree with that. There are serious concerns around independence, governance and the role the Minister plays in direction and so on. We spoke about it previously. We are talking about the need for an independent complaints process. The Minister of State could not investigate a complaint against her and I could not investigate a complaint against me so the office should not be able to investigate a complaint against it. It is a sound amendment and I really hope the Minister of State takes it on board.

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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