180. Deputy Sinéad Gibney asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment if he will comment on the development of the European Digital Omnibus particularly the recent agreement which may allow high-risk systems to operate uncategorised to December 2027 or August 2028; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38320/26]

I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and welcome the opportunity to provide an update in relation to the development of the European Digital Omnibus on AI.

The Digital Omnibus on AI introduces targeted amendments to address practical implementation challenges identified by stakeholders. These changes are designed to:

• increase legal certainty for businesses, regulators and citizens

• reduce compliance costs and administrative burdens

• support innovation while maintaining strong safeguards

Ireland welcomes the provisional agreement reached on 7 May between the co-legislators – the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union – on the Digital Omnibus on AI.

Regulation plays an important role in ensuring markets operate fairly and in protecting consumers and it is essential that such regulation is proportionate and targeted to its objectives, protecting citizens while promoting innovation and competition.

The Digital Omnibus on AI strikes a balance by simplifying and clarifying the EU AI Act, while maintaining clear and predictable safeguards. By reducing unnecessary barriers to investment and innovation, we can unlock the growth opportunities created by rapid technological change.

The provisional agreement introduces a fixed timeline for the application of high-risk rules: the new application dates would be 2 December 2027 for stand-alone high-risk AI systems and 2 August 2028 for high-risk AI systems embedded in products. The adjusted timelines for applying rules on high-risk AI systems ensure the rules start to apply once the Commission confirms the needed standards and tools are available, thereby increasing certainty for businesses, regulators and citizens.

Furthermore, the provisional agreement reinstates the obligation for providers to register AI systems in the EU database for high-risk systems, where they consider their systems to be exempted from classification as high-risk. It also reinstates the standard of strict necessity for the processing of special categories of personal data for the purpose of ensuring bias detection and correction.

The provisional agreement moves the regulation of AI systems used as safety components in Machinery products out of the scope of the AI Act, but transfers requirements from the AI Act to machinery specific regulations. Thereby maintaining protections.

The agreement also introduces the explicit prohibition of the AI-generated production of non-consensual intimate images and child sexual abuse material. Ireland, alongside fellow Member States, was a strong advocate for this additional but vital protection.

The provisional agreement must be now endorsed by the Council and the European Parliament before being submitted to a legal/linguistic revision with a view to the formal adoption of the legislative act by the co-legislators in the coming weeks.