On 21 July 2026, the Irish President, Catherine Connolly, signed the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026 (the “Act”) into law, following an accelerated legislative process.
The Act gives further effect in Irish law to the EU Artificial Intelligence (“AI”) Act, and provides for national supervision and enforcement of the obligations set out in the EU AI Act. Interestingly, and somewhat unusually, the text of the final Act remains unchanged since the initial publication of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 (the “Bill”) last month (previously discussed here), as no amendments were passed during the legislative process.
The Act will come into operation on such day(s) as the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment (the “Minister”) appoints by order(s). Irish organisations should take steps to prepare for engagement with the AI Office of Ireland (the “AI Office”) and the other competent authorities which form a part of the distributed model for AI oversight in Ireland.
Contents of the Act
As noted above, the provisions of the Act remain unchanged from the initial publication of the Bill. The key provisions of the Act provide for:
- the establishment of the AI Office as a central co-ordinating authority and single point of contact under the EU AI Act;
- a distributed model for AI oversight in Ireland comprised of a number of national bodies designated as market surveillance authorities and notifying authorities;
- a comprehensive supervision and enforcement regime, including an adjudication process and administrative sanctions; and
- regulatory sandboxes and real world testing in order to encourage innovation and support the development of AI systems.
For a more detailed overview of the contents of the Act and the implications that the Act has for Irish organisations, see our previously published deep dive available here.
Establishment of the AI Office
On 30 July 2026, the Minister announced the establishment of the AI Office. The AI Office is expected to be operational by 2 August 2026, and will begin to perform its functions in providing strategic governance in relation to the EU AI Act, and acting as the central co-ordinating authority to ensure a consistent regulatory approach. This date of operation aligns with the EU AI Act, which is generally applicable from 2 August 2026 (subject to certain exceptions). The rules for high-risk AI systems, in particular, have been delayed by the AI Digital Omnibus Regulation 1026/1744 until 2 December 2027 and 2 August 2028, depending on the nature of the AI System.
It was also confirmed that Paul Byrne, formerly Executive Director of Education, Innovation and Artificial Intelligence with the Medical Counsel of Ireland, will serve as the first CEO of the AI Office.
Next steps
We understand there is an intention to designate the AI Office as a market surveillance authority under the Act by way of a statutory instrument. This statutory instrument is expected to be published in the coming weeks.
In addition, according to statements by the Minister, a second piece of primary legislation is expected in Autumn 2026 to address the formal adoption of the AI Digital Omnibus Regulation 1026/1744, which came into force on 27 July 2026 (previously discussed here).
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