On 2 August 2026, the new Irish AI Office became operational. The AI Office is established under the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026 and is the new independent statutory body that acts as Ireland’s central coordinating authority for the implementation of the AI Act.

Unlike other jurisdictions opting for a single regulator, Ireland is using a distributed, sector-specific supervision model. This means that existing regulatory bodies have been designated as national Market Surveillance Authorities (“MSAs”) for their respective industries. For example, the Central Bank of Ireland deals with AI in financial services, and the Data Protection Commission (“DPC”) deals with AI in relation to data protection.

The primary mandate of the AI Office of Ireland is to connect the 15 MSAs together, ensure consistent enforcement across industries, and act as the single point of contact with the European Commission, the EU AI Office and relevant bodies in respect of AI regulation. It will provide technical expertise and establish and maintain a national public AI register to support transparency of AI supervision.