920. Deputy John Brady asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to provide an overview of the AI policy in place within his Department; if AI has been incorporated into any work streams; if AI is ever used in reply to parliamentary questions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58666/26]

My Department has put in place an internal AI Strategy for 2026, which sets out its approach to the responsible adoption and use of AI. The Strategy builds on an interim internal strategy introduced in 2025 and is being taken forward on a rolling annual basis. This approach is intended to ensure that the Department can respond appropriately to developments in technology, governance and business needs.

As part of the roll-out of the interim AI Strategy in June 2025, access to Microsoft Copilot Chat was made available to all employees in the Department. The 2026 Strategy provides for the continued availability of Copilot Chat and for a follow-up pilot of Microsoft 365 Copilot.

A core focus of the Strategy is to strengthen AI awareness and skills across the Department. In 2025, AI awareness sessions were delivered to over 500 participants. Further sessions, with a particular focus on governance and guidance, took place in March 2026 with over 230 participants attending.

The Department’s Strategy and accompanying guidelines provide that AI may be used to support initial background research for relevant tasks. However, AI should not be used to generate material for inclusion in Government business, including Memoranda for Government, responses to Parliamentary Questions, Ministerial representations, Ministerial speeches and similar material.

Accordingly, replies to Parliamentary Questions are prepared by officials in the Department. Staff may make responsible use of approved AI tools to support their work, where appropriate, but the preparation of Departmental content remains subject to human judgement, review and oversight.