Ireland

[IE] Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council provides recommendations to Irish Government for adoption of AI policy in Ireland

IRIS 2025-3:1/9

Lawrence Morris

The newly formed Artificial Intelligence (AI) Advisory Council, established on 17 January 2024 by the Minister of State with responsibility for Digital, was formed to provide independent expert advice and guidance to the Irish Government on AI policy.

On 21 February 2025, the AI Advisory Council published a six-point paper entitled “Ireland’s AI Advisory Council Recommendations – Helping to Shape Ireland’s AI Future”. The stated purpose of this paper was to provide recommendations to the Irish Government to accelerate AI adoption, encourage responsible innovation, and reinforce Ireland’s role in the global AI ecosystem.

In its first recommendations, the AI Advisory Council called on the Irish Government to directly invest in the development of a real-time publicly available "AI Observatory" in the context of the future of skills and work. The AI Observatory is intended to deliver data and insights on a wide range of AI metrics such as labour market dynamics, capital flows, skills development, quality of life enhancement, public attitudes, etc. The aim of this resource is to provide policy makers, educators and workers with a database to make better measurements and provide better insights into what is occurring, as well asto navigate the future.  

The AI Advisory Council has subsequently identified that Ireland should leverage its strong research and development (R&D) culture as well as its pro-business environment to lead in applied AI. To achieve this, it provides that R&D commercialisation must be prioritised through a focused startup ecosystem, faster funding reviews and expedited rollout of a national AI testbed.  

The third recommendation made by the advisory council relates to AI literacy and education in the Irish population. The advisory council suggests that the Irish Government should create coordinated guidelines between the different education levels in respect of the safe, ethical and responsible use of generative AI. It proposes that the Irish Government should then lead the development and implementation of AI literacy training for all educators across all education levels as part of professional development programmes. This should be complemented by the establishment of a system that ensures equitable access to generative AI tools for teachers and students and which remains private, secure and free. Finally, the advisory council recommends the promotion of a national conversation around AI in education between teachers, parents/guardians, policymakers, technology companies, students and educational technology innovators.

The AI Advisory Council addresses, in its fourth point, AI sovereignty and infrastructure. It outlines the cultural and economic necessity for Ireland to develop its own indigenous AI capability. It suggests that the Irish Government should lead by example by fully integrating AI into its operations for streamlined public services in the hope that it will generate the beginning of “Irish AI” and will strengthen local innovation. However, the advisory council notes that AI is enabled by data and energy and it warns that expansion to date in relation to existing data centres has been halted by grid constraints and fossil fuel dependency. To address energy deficits, the advisory council proposes the establishment of an “AI Energy Council” to coordinate data and energy policy. It further emphasises the safeguarding of national data assets.

The fifth point considers recommendations relating to the use of Facial Recognition Technology (FRT) within law enforcement. For context, the Irish police force does not currently use FRT. The advisory council notes that given the high-risk nature of FRT and its impact on fundamental rights, public transparency, engagement and accountability will be crucial in building public trust. It advocates for a clear legal basis for FRT and proper legal parameters for how facial recognition databases will be compiled. It recommends the establishment of a bespoke procurement framework and promotes regular independent auditing as a safeguard. It further suggests that Irish law enforcement should test FRT in the real world before adopting it.  

The final set of recommendations from the AI Advisory Council relates to Ireland’s creative sector. It notes that AI offers both opportunities for growth but also significant challenges. The advisory council highlights the need to protect creators from challenges posed by AI. It suggests the Irish Government should reassess whether Ireland’s copyright laws and licencing regimes are equipped against AI disruption.

The advisory council also notes that AI is an enabler for the creative sector. As such, it advises that AI can bring significant opportunities to the creative sector by enhancing artistic expression. It recommends that the Irish Government should be assisting the creative sector in adopting new technology and in so doing it would be adding another means of protecting the sector from AI disruption.

Importantly, the advisory council addresses AI misuse in the form of deepfakes and digital cloning which effectively are technologies that digitally clone the image, likeness and voice of individuals. It recommends that the Irish Government should consider the introduction of specific laws which would prohibit the creation of digital deepfakes without the consent of the individual.

The AI Advisory Council concludes its recommendations by suggesting that the Irish Government should explore policy initiatives aimed at protecting and promoting Irish and European Culture.