Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026 (Ireland)

What it is

The Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026 is Number 31 of 2026. It was signed into law by President Catherine Connolly on 21 July 2026 and its long title describes it as an Act to provide for the establishment of Oifig IS na hÉireann and to give further effect to Regulation (EU) 2024/1689, the EU AI Act.

The EU AI Act applies directly in every Member State, but it leaves each one to designate national authorities, set penalties and run the enforcement process. The Irish Act does that work. The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment commenced it on 31 July 2026 by S.I. No. 403 of 2026, with two paragraphs of the section 78 definition of “applicable market surveillance authority” held back. Those paragraphs name Coimisiún na Meán and the Data Protection Commission. The same day, S.I. No. 404 of 2026 set the establishment day of the AI Office.

Who it applies to

The Act applies to the organisations the EU AI Act applies to in Ireland. That means providers that place AI systems or general-purpose AI models on the market, deployers that use AI systems in their work, and importers, distributors and authorised representatives. Organisations outside Ireland are reached where the EU AI Act reaches them.

What the Act decides is who supervises them. Ireland chose a distributed model, in which existing regulators supervise AI in the sectors they already know. The Designation Regulations, S.I. No. 366 of 2025, named the first set of market surveillance authorities and notifying authorities, and S.I. No. 405 of 2026 designated further bodies in July 2026.

What it requires

The AI Office of Ireland. Part 2 establishes Oifig IS na hÉireann as an independent body. Section 9 gives it the functions of coordinating the competent authorities to encourage consistent implementation, supporting cooperation and joint investigations, promoting AI innovation and literacy, raising public awareness of rights and obligations under the AI Act, and giving authorities access to technical, legal and regulatory expertise. The Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment announced the Office’s establishment on 30 July 2026, with Paul Byrne as its first chief executive.

Single point of contact and AI register. Section 42 designates the Office as Ireland’s single point of contact under Article 70(2) of the AI Act. Section 43 requires it to keep a national AI register of prohibited practices found in the State, serious incidents involving high-risk AI systems reported under Article 73, critical infrastructure systems registered under Article 49(5), and other AI notifications the AI Act requires.

Sandboxes and real-world testing. Section 46 lets the Office establish AI regulatory sandboxes under Article 57 of the AI Act, and Part 3 also provides for testing high-risk AI systems in real-world conditions with the permission of the relevant market surveillance authority.

Investigation and adjudication. Market surveillance authorities get powers of investigation through authorised officers. Where a breach is suspected, Part 6 provides for a notice of suspected non-compliance, referral to an independent adjudicator drawn from a register of adjudicators, and an adjudication that takes effect only when confirmed by the High Court. Section 78 lists the bodies that use this process, including Coimisiún na Meán, the Commission for Railway Regulation, ComReg, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities, the Data Protection Commission, the Health and Safety Authority, the HPRA, the HSE, the Marine Survey Office, the National Transport Authority and the Workplace Relations Commission.

Central Bank and CCPC. Part 8 applies the regime to the Central Bank of Ireland through the Central Bank Act 1942, which lets the Central Bank impose administrative fines for AI Act breaches by the firms it supervises. Part 9 does the same for the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission through the Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2014.

For an organisation, the practical work does not change. It still has to know which of its AI systems the AI Act reaches, in which role and at which risk tier. The Irish Act adds one more question, which is which authority supervises each system, and that follows from the sector the system is used in.

Key dates

• 25 July 2025. Designation Regulations made, naming Ireland’s first AI Act authorities.
• 21 July 2026. Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026 signed into law.
• 31 July 2026. Act commenced, except two paragraphs of the section 78 definition, and the AI Office established. Further market surveillance authorities designated by S.I. No. 405 of 2026.
• 2 August 2026. General application of the EU AI Act, including Article 50 transparency.
• 2 December 2027 and 2 August 2028. Annex III and Annex I high-risk obligations apply, as amended by the Digital Omnibus on AI.

The Department said further AI legislation would be brought forward in the autumn of 2026 to reflect the EU’s changes.

How it relates to other frameworks

The Act is the enforcement layer for the EU AI Act, and the deployer obligations guide covers what most Irish organisations will actually have to do. Where an AI system processes personal data, the GDPR applies alongside it, with the Data Protection Commission as the supervisory authority and Article 22 governing solely automated decisions. Irish public bodies also follow the Guidelines for the Responsible Use of AI in the Public Service.

A note on this page

This is Aicura’s reading of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026. It is not legal advice and it is not the Act itself. Read the enacted text published by the Oireachtas, and take advice on how it applies to your organisation.