1726. Deputy James Geoghegan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the usage of artificial intelligence within his Department; the categories of usage; the usage of artificial intelligence within any bodies under the aegis of his Department; the categories of usage; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [57228/26]

Governance is in place in my Department for the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence in line with Guidance from Central Government and our AI policy is aligned with this advice. An AI advisory group has been established and reports to the ICT Governance Committee. Users must accept the policy and complete training before access to artificial intelligence tools is provided.

My Department uses Microsoft CoPilot Chat via Microsoft Teams. This AI technology is available as part of the Microsoft enterprise offering and is being deployed as a potential technology to assist in productivity.

My Department does not hold the requested information in respect of the State Bodies under its aegis. Arrangements have been put in place by all bodies under the aegis of my Department to facilitate the provision of information directly to members of the Oireachtas. This provides a speedy, efficient and cost effective system to address queries directly to the relevant bodies. These State Bodies may be contacted directly by e-mail by members of the Oireachtas at the email addresses set out in the table below: