Taoiseach to chair new Cabinet AI committee on regulation and impact of technology

Taoiseach Micheál Martin is to chair a new Cabinet committee on artificial intelligence (AI) that will focus on the impact of the technology on society, economy and labour market as well as its regulation and deployment in the public service.Martin will bring plans for the new committee to Cabinet today as he and Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke update colleagues on the International AI Summit taking place in Dublin on Wednesday.The summit at the RDS is being held as part of Ireland’s presidency of the Council of the European Union. The Taoiseach will deliver an opening address and attendees will hear from various European Commissioners, ministers and representatives of artificial intelligence companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic, as well as figures from tech giants such as Microsoft. READ MOREIt is understood that initiatives will be announced at the AI Summit to showcase Ireland’s AI ambitions to an international audience.The Digital Ireland strategy, published in February, outlined the Government’s ambition to strengthen Ireland’s position as a digital leader and a global hub for AI innovation. The new AI Office of Ireland was established in early August.Separately, Burke is expected to brief Cabinet colleagues on the Start Up Ireland initiative which is to be formally established by this week and aims to create 1,000 new Irish start-up companies. So-called high-potential start-ups will be awarded €100,000 investment and all supports will be co-ordinated from a new hub, co-located with Enterprise Ireland’s new Dublin city centre headquarters. Under the plans, there will also be a specialised AI accelerator programme, matching promising Irish AI companies with global leaders in the field. Meanwhile, the Minister for Transport is to bring plans to extend the Road Transport Support Scheme (RTSS). The RTSS initially involved payments for hauliers and bus and coach operators for March to May as part of the Government’s response to spiralling fuel costs caused by the Iran war. The scheme is being extended to September and October with some €73 million allocated for this purpose.[ Ireland’s EU presidency proposes budget cut of €141bn for the blocOpens in new window ]Elsewhere, Minister for Housing James Browne is to seek Cabinet approval to launch the Defective Concrete Blocks Social Homes Scheme 2026.The scheme enables local authorities or approved housing bodies to remediate damage to social housing caused by defective concrete blocks.Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is expected to bring the National Drugs Strategy 2026-2030 to Cabinet before a launch event for the publication alongside Minister of State Jennifer Murnane O’Connor. It is understood that the strategy includes an action plan with 33 actions, including measures on prevention, emerging drug threats, services for women and minority groups, family and community supports, and stigma reduction. Some €7 million was allocated in the budget to begin the implementation of the strategy. Minister for Higher Education James Lawless is to bring a memo to Cabinet on the commencement of an independent review of doctoral education in Ireland. The review will examine how Ireland can increase the number of PhD students and graduates and strengthen the research workforce that is said to underpin economic growth, enterprise development and public innovation.Minister for Rural Development Dara Calleary is to ask the Government to approve a five-year strategy to support the community and voluntary sector in advance of its launch this week. [ The cost of social awkwardness and Ireland’s AI funding boomOpens in new window ]