269. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the key measures taken in the area of artificial intelligence since January 2025; his priorities for same for the rest of 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53468/26]

During 2025, my Department made strong progress on national implementation of the EU AI Act. We adopted a distributed model, allowing businesses to work with regulators who understand their sectors, making compliance more practical and effective. Ireland successfully met the first two obligations under the AI Act with regard to the designation of competent authorities, and to the listing of fundamental rights bodies.

Government also approved the establishment of a new statutory independent body, the AI Office of Ireland, which will coordinate EU AI Act implementation, promote transparent and safe AI adoption, and oversee a national AI regulatory sandbox where innovators can test solutions with compliance experts.

Progress on the EU AI Act and AI Office of Ireland has continued into 2026. The Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 is currently passing through the Houses of the Oireachtas with a view to enactment before the 2 August 2026 when key provisions of the EU AI Act must be implemented by member states.

Work is also at an advanced stage in establishing the AI Office of Ireland. Key priority posts have been filled across ICT, governance and compliance, single point of contact, and the regulatory sandbox. €1.5 million for the start-up phase of the AI Office was secured as part of the Budget 2026 process and recruitment for the CEO of the AI office is underway.

Also in 2025, the Charter for Digital Inclusion was launched with the objective of highlighting the role of larger businesses in supporting SMEs to adopt and benefit from AI and digital technologies.

And in collaboration with CeADAR (Ireland's national centre for applied AI), my Department developed "AI for You: Introduction to AI and the EU AI Act" in 2025 - a free online course for citizens and enterprises.

In February 2026, the new National Digital and AI Strategy - Digital Ireland: Connecting our People, Securing our Future, was published. It sets out a clear and ambitious roadmap for advancing Ireland’s digital and AI capabilities in the years ahead, underlying digital competitiveness as a foundation for economic resilience.

My key focus in Digital Ireland is to position Ireland as a location of choice for AI and Digital startups and to accelerate the adoption of AI across our enterprise base to enhance competitiveness and productivity.

In 2025, Enterprise Ireland supported 196 High Potential Start Ups (HPSU), and up to half were AI-intensive - the strongest AI-startup pipeline we have ever seen. Also, €183 million has been invested to date by Government in 51 Disruptive Technology Innovation Fund (DTIF) projects that place AI at the core of their solutions, with a further €196 million allocated to 2030. A new €21m National Startup Accelerator Programme has also been announced, designed to strengthen and streamline Ireland’s start-up support ecosystem.

To fast track enterprise adoption of AI, we recently launched the ‘AI - Good for Business’ initiative, which serves as an umbrella framework for AI and digital transformation supports within my department. The initiative simplifies access to information and supports, shows how AI is used in practice with real business examples and encourages adoption by building awareness, skills and readiness.

As part of the initiative, a nationwide series of Ministerial roadshows, delivered in conjunction with Local Enterprise Offices, is underway. The roadshows showcase real-life success stories, explain practical applications, and highlight available supports to SMEs.

Reflecting the need for a differentiated approach across sectors, key priorities in Digital Ireland for 2026 include the development of a sector-specific AI adoption strategy and the appointment by Enterprise Ireland of AI Sector Champions to highlight AI opportunities in various sectors. Enterprise Ireland are also developing an AI adoption roadmap for its client companies.

Finally, as part of Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the EU, in October 2026, we will host an International AI Summit on 14 October 2026 at the RDS. Under the theme ‘Harnessing AI to Revolutionise Europe’s Competitiveness’ the Summit will focus on Applied AI and sectoral value creation, highlighting Europe’s shift from research to applied AI that delivers tangible impact across industries and public services. An Innovation Spotlight Exhibition will showcase cutting-edge AI solutions and emerging technologies