The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (DETE) published the General Scheme of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 on 4 February 2026 (the Scheme). The Scheme forms the basis for the national Irish legislation which will implement certain aspects of the EU AI Act into Irish law.

We set out below some points to note resulting from the Scheme.

New AI Office  – Oifig gIS na hÉireann 

The Scheme proposes to establish a new independent statutory body called ‘Oifig Intleachta Shaorga na hÉireann’ or the ‘AI Office of Ireland’ (the Office). The Office will serve as…