By Dayo Ade Olusola | M10News Technology & Business Desk ©
Dublin | Tuesday, 8 July 2025
Ireland’s first Minister of State with responsibility for Artificial Intelligence has acknowledged that job losses are inevitable as AI becomes more deeply embedded in the economy — but insisted the country must embrace the technology to remain globally competitive.
Niamh Smyth, a junior minister at the Department of Enterprise, said it would be “foolish” to pretend that jobs won’t be displaced. She told the Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence that while disruption is expected, Ireland cannot afford to resist AI adoption.
The committee session marked Smyth’s first public appearance in her new AI role. Her comments come as the government begins rolling out regulatory structures to comply with the EU’s landmark Artificial Intelligence Act.
Ireland is now in the process of establishing a national regulator for AI, tasked with enforcing EU rules.
At the same time, the government is trying to ensure the public sector uses AI to boost efficiency and that Irish businesses gain from its economic potential.
Smyth revealed that an “AI Observatory” is also in development. This new body will gather and publish data on job displacement, assess which roles are most at risk, and help guide policymaking on how to mitigate those impacts.
The minister said the goal was not to halt progress but to ensure a responsible transition. “We have to strike a balance,” she told the committee. “That means embracing innovation, but not at the expense of citizens’ rights or worker protections.”
Smyth faced pointed questions from opposition TDs, including Social Democrats spokesperson Sinéad Gibney, who raised concerns about the government’s priorities. Gibney said it appeared the State was too focused on enabling business while downplaying risks to society.
Gibney highlighted job displacement, misinformation, and rising emissions from data centres as core risks associated with AI. She said the government had not yet demonstrated a credible strategy to address those threats in parallel with its pro-business approach.
The minister outlined her priorities, stating she was keen to promote AI use among small and medium enterprises (SMEs), where awareness and adoption rates remain low. She also committed to raising AI literacy across the wider economy.
Smyth said an independent AI office is being established within her department. Once operational — expected in just over a year — the office will offer legal guidance to businesses on how to meet EU compliance standards under the AI Act.
She added that this will bring clarity for Irish companies and remove uncertainty around new obligations. “We want to make it easier for businesses to do the right thing,” she said.
However, Gibney challenged Smyth’s claim that new legal supports would impose a burden. She pointed to the government’s own updated AI strategy from October 2024, which states most businesses will face “few or no obligations” under the EU regulation.
In her view, the State’s support structures were skewed too far toward enabling AI development rather than managing its societal costs. “Your commitments seem overwhelmingly focused on businesses,” Gibney said.
Smyth responded that the AI Act was designed around a “risk-based” framework, prioritising higher scrutiny for systems with greater potential to harm the public. “This is about proportionate protections,” she said.
She did not commit to any specific domestic laws going beyond the EU framework. When asked if Ireland would pursue additional regulation of AI use by private firms, Smyth said it was “too early to say.”
People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy raised a separate controversy — the treatment of Irish workers contracted to train AI models. He cited a Journal.ie investigation into content moderators at outsourcing firm Covalen, which works with Meta.
According to the report, moderators were tasked with simulating disturbing prompts, including suicide-related content and child exploitation, to train the AI’s content filters. Murphy described the work as “deeply harmful” and psychologically dangerous.
Smyth said she was not yet familiar with the case but called the described conditions “a very cruel way of using workers.” She added, “That certainly wouldn’t be acceptable here in Ireland.”
Murphy interjected: “But this is happening in Ireland. Covalen is an Irish company working under contract for Meta.” Smyth said she would follow up with more information once she had reviewed the case.
Murphy also criticised the minister’s omission of climate impact in her opening remarks. He said energy-hungry data centres, which power many AI systems, pose a growing risk to Ireland’s carbon targets.
In response, Smyth acknowledged the challenge but said energy regulation is the responsibility of the Department of the Environment. She expressed hope that AI can be developed responsibly alongside progress on climate goals.
“There’s no getting away from the fact that data centres have helped put Ireland at the centre of tech investment,” she said. “But the energy question does need to be answered.”
Smyth also spoke about the threat AI poses to the arts and creative industries — an area close to her background as a graduate of the National College of Art and Design. She said artists must not see their work scraped or stolen by AI systems.
“We need to make sure creators are protected,” she said. “We want a thriving innovation ecosystem, but not at the cost of our cultural industries.”
Looking ahead, Smyth proposed that Ireland could showcase its AI leadership during its EU Council presidency next year. She suggested hosting a major European AI summit, similar to the one recently organised by French President Emmanuel Macron.
Source: Based on reporting from TheJournal.ie | Editing by M10News Technology & Business Desk
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