Ireland Publishes General Scheme of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026, February 4, 2026

On 4 February 2026, the Irish Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment published the General Scheme of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 (the Scheme), following Government Decisions of 4 March 2025 and 22 July 2025 approving Ireland's distributed regulatory model for the EU AI Act. The Scheme is at the pre-legislative stage: it sets out the Heads of Bill — the legislative blueprint — but has not yet been introduced to the Oireachtas as a formal Bill. It will undergo pre-legislative scrutiny before formal drafting. The statutory establishment day for the AI Office of Ireland (Oifig Intleachta Shaorga na hEireann) must occur on or before 1 August 2026, driven by the EU AI Act's implementation timeline under Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 — subject to the EU Omnibus proposal. The Scheme implements Articles 70 and following of the EU AI Act, which require Member States to designate national competent authorities and a single point of contact.

The controlling authority is Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 (EU AI Act), specifically Articles 70–74, which require Member States to designate competent authorities for market surveillance and a national supervisory authority, and Article 70(2), which requires designation of a single point of contact. The Scheme proposes to make the AI Office of Ireland that single point of contact. Ireland adopts a distributed enforcement model: thirteen existing sectoral regulators will serve as competent authorities (market surveillance authorities) within their respective domains — including the Central Bank of Ireland for regulated financial services, Coimisiun na Mean for audiovisual media, the Data Protection Commission for personal data rights, and the Health Service Executive for certain high-risk health applications — while the AI Office coordinates nationally. Administrative sanctions proposed in Part 5 of the Scheme mirror EU AI Act Article 99: prohibited practices face fines of up to 35 million euros or 7% of total worldwide annual turnover, whichever is higher; non-compliance with high-risk obligations faces fines of up to 15 million euros or 3% of worldwide turnover.

For AI system providers, deployers, importers, and distributors operating in Ireland or placing AI systems on the Irish market, the Scheme signals the specific sectoral authority that will regulate their activities. Companies operating across multiple regulated sectors — such as a fintech firm deploying AI in both financial services and employment contexts — may face simultaneous supervision by the Central Bank of Ireland and the Workplace Relations Commission. Sectoral authorities will hold enforcement powers including announced and unannounced on-site inspections, documentary review, product sampling, AI system testing, content removal orders, and — as a last resort for high-risk systems — access to source code. The Scheme also provides that authorities may challenge a provider's self-assessment that a system falls outside the high-risk category under Annex III of the EU AI Act, with potential reclassification triggering full high-risk compliance obligations for both providers and deployers.

The 1 August 2026 statutory establishment deadline for the AI Office is subject to the EU's proposed Digital Omnibus Package, which could alter the EU AI Act's implementation timeline. The Scheme remains subject to amendment during pre-legislative scrutiny and subsequent formal drafting; its provisions are therefore not yet law. Administrative sanctions under the Scheme do not take effect until confirmed by the High Court, providing a layer of judicial oversight before penalties become operative. Businesses should treat the August 2026 deadline as a practical window for building compliance capability, particularly in documenting AI system risk classifications and preparing post-market monitoring and incident-reporting procedures.

Source: Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, Ireland, "General Scheme of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026," published 4 February 2026, https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-enterprise-tourism-and-employment/publications/general-scheme-of-the-regulation-of-artificial-intelligence-bill-2026/ (confirmed 4 March 2026). See also: Regulation (EU) 2024/1689 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 June 2024 (EU AI Act), OJ L, 2024/1689, 12.7.2024, Arts. 70-74.

The information provided is not legal, tax, investment, or accounting advice and should not be used as such. It is for discussion purposes only. Seek guidance from your own legal counsel and advisors on any matters. The views presented are those of the author and not any other individual or organization. Some parts of the text may be automatically generated. The author of this material makes no guarantees or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of the information.