What is the AI Office of Ireland?

The AI Office's functions

The AI Office of Ireland has five principal functions under the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026. First, it acts as the default National Competent Authority for AI systems that do not clearly fall within an existing sectoral regulator's remit — cross-sectoral AI systems, novel applications that sit between existing regulatory categories, and AI used by public bodies not supervised by a sectoral regulator. Second, it coordinates the 15 sectoral NCAs to ensure consistent enforcement standards and to manage cases where multiple NCAs have jurisdiction. Third, it oversees general-purpose AI models — the large foundation models and APIs that underpin a wide range of AI applications — and handles the specific obligations these providers have under the Act. Fourth, it receives and investigates reports of serious incidents involving AI, maintaining a register of significant AI failures. Fifth, it represents Ireland at the European AI Office level and participates in developing EU-wide enforcement guidance and codes of practice.

How the AI Office coordinates with sectoral regulators

The relationship between the AI Office of Ireland and the 15 sectoral NCAs is collaborative rather than hierarchical. Each sectoral NCA retains primary responsibility for AI enforcement within its sector — the Central Bank for financial services, the DPC for personal data processing, the HPRA for medical AI, and so on. The AI Office coordinates between them to avoid regulatory gaps (where no NCA claims jurisdiction) and regulatory overlaps (where multiple NCAs claim jurisdiction for the same case). For cases that clearly fall within a sectoral regulator's remit, the AI Office defers to that regulator. For cross-sectoral cases, the AI Office leads. For general-purpose AI model oversight, the AI Office leads directly. This architecture mirrors how Ireland has approached other complex EU regulatory regimes — using existing sectoral expertise rather than creating a single all-powerful regulator from scratch.