Skip to Sidebar Skip to Content
Country tracker · Europe · 40 countries, one method

AI in Ireland

How far Ireland has come on AI, and how complete its AI rulebook is: two scores, six lenses, every law linked to its official text.
49.9% of people aged 15–64 used a generative AI product in Q2 2026, up from 41.7% in H1 2025; #3 of the 147 economies Microsoft tracks. Its strongest lens is Talent (#13 of 39) and its weakest Infrastructure (#32). On AI law: the eu AI act applies directly; national law names the regulators and sets national penalties.
Follow IrelandAI law in Ireland
#24 of 40 on Progress86/100 Rulebook4 verified laws and rulesChecked 21 Oct 2026
In the Record’s memory2 dated events since January 2023, by month and kind. Darker means busier; choose a square to see those events.
See all 2 in the ledger →
Laws and rules2

Ireland through six lenses

How the scores work →
The same six lenses, in the same order, on every country page. Each shows its lead number, the rank among the countries the source covers, and every indicator behind the lens score. 7 of 17 indicators measure Ireland.
01Adoption#15 of 40
How widely are people and firms using AI?
49.9%
share of people aged 15–64 who used generative AI, Q2 2026
H1 2025Q2 2026
Lens score49
03Research#24 of 40
Does it build AI and its science?
1
notable AI models, 2003–2025
Lens score11
05Infrastructure#32 of 40
Does it have the machines?
55
data centres tracked by Cloudscene, 2025
Lens score16

AI law in Ireland

How to check a law →

The EU AI Act applies directly; the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026, signed 21 July 2026, set up the AI Office of Ireland to coordinate sector regulators.

EU AI Act, plus national lawThe EU AI Act applies directly; national law names the regulators and sets national penalties.
The EU AI Act applies here directly. Risk tiers. Prohibitions and AI literacy apply from 2 Feb 2025; GPAI obligations, governance and penalty rules from 2 Aug 2025; Art. 50 transparency and Commission GPAI enforcement powers from 2 Aug 2026; high-risk dates as amended by Regulation 2026/1744 (Annex III 2 Dec 2027, Annex I 2 Aug 2028). Amended by Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 of 8 July 2026 amending Regulations (EU)…. EU rules and dates →
  1. In forceLaw · bindingAdopted 21 Jul 2026 · In force from 31 Jul 2026

    Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026

    Gives domestic effect to the AI Act without adding obligations: establishes the AI Office of Ireland (CEO Paul Byrne; board first met 8 Sep 2026) as coordinator and single point of contact, designates sector regulators, sets investigation and sanction procedures, sandboxes and real-world testing. General Scheme Feb 2026; Bill published 17 Jun 2026 (10 Parts, 139 sections) and passed unamended under an accelerated process; signed 21 Jul 2026.

    Penalty AI Act fine ceilings apply (up to EUR 35m or 7% of turnover)
    Official text Independent check Confidence: high
  2. In forceStrategy · not bindingAdopted Jul 2021

    AI - Here for Good: National AI Strategy (refreshed 2024)

    National strategy on trustworthy AI adoption (July 2021); refresh dated October 2024 and launched November 2024, with strands on public trust, governance (AI Act), enterprise adoption and AI in public services.

    Official text Independent check Confidence: high
  3. In forceLaw · bindingAdopted 28 Dec 2020 · In force from 10 Feb 2021

    Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act 2020 (Coco's Law)

    Criminalises distributing or threatening to distribute intimate images with intent to cause harm (s.2) and recording or distributing them without consent (s.3), plus threatening or grossly offensive communications (s.4); the explanatory memo to Bill 13 of 2026 states the Act does not extend to computer-generated fake images of identifiable people.

    Penalty up to 7 years' imprisonment (s.2, on indictment)
    Official text Independent check Confidence: high
  4. Bill before parliamentBill · not binding

    Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences (Amendment) Bills 2026 (private members' bills 8 and 13 of 2026)

    Would extend Coco's Law to AI-generated or computer-modified intimate images: Bill 8 (introduced 27 Jan 2026) defines 'generate' to include generative AI and bans generating intimate images without consent; Labour's Bill 13 (4 Feb 2026) adds an offence of generating or facilitating such images. A Sinn Féin bill was debated in the Dáil in April 2026; no later stage confirmed.

    Official text Independent check Confidence: medium

The Rulebook score, line by line

What each line means →
86 of 100. Each line names the law or body that earns its points.
  1. Binding AI rulesAn AI law with enforceable duties on companies applies now · AI Act35/35
  2. A national AI strategy, adopted or updated since 2022AI - Here for Good: National AI Strategy (refreshed 2024)8/8
  3. A body named to oversee or enforce AI rulesRegulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 20266/6
  4. An AI safety or evaluation instituteNone found0/6
  5. A right to challenge automated decisions, in forceRegulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Article 22 on automated individual…12/12
  6. Rules on AI-generated content: labels or deepfake offences, in forceAI Act13/13
  7. International AI governance initiatives endorsed (of 8)5 of 8. Source: AI governance initiatives by country7.5/12
  8. Council of Europe AI Convention: signed 5, ratified 8Through the EU5/8

The record

What gets an entry →
Every dated step: laws adopted and coming into force, and each reading of AI use. Newest first; future dates are marked.
  1. 31 Jul 2026LawsRegulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026 came into forceOfficial sourceSource →
  2. 21 Jul 2026LawsRegulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026 adoptedGives domestic effect to the AI Act without adding obligations: establishes the AI Office of Ireland (CEO Paul Byrne; board first met 8 Sep 2026) as coordinator and single point of contact, designates sector regulators, …Official sourceSource →
  3. 30 Jun 2026AdoptionAI user share reached 49.9%, from 48.4% in Q1 2026Share of people aged 15–64 who used a generative AI product, Q2 2026.Independent estimateSource →
  4. 31 Mar 2026AdoptionAI user share reached 48.4%, from 44.6% in H2 2025Share of people aged 15–64 who used a generative AI product, Q1 2026.Independent estimateSource →
  5. 31 Dec 2025AdoptionAI user share reached 44.6%, from 41.7% in H1 2025Share of people aged 15–64 who used a generative AI product, H2 2025.Independent estimateSource →
  6. Jul 2021LawsAI - Here for Good: National AI Strategy (refreshed 2024) adoptedNational strategy on trustworthy AI adoption (July 2021); refresh dated October 2024 and launched November 2024, with strands on public trust, governance (AI Act), enterprise adoption and AI in public services.Official sourceSource →
  7. 10 Feb 2021LawsCoco's Law came into forceOfficial sourceSource →
  8. 28 Dec 2020LawsCoco's Law adoptedCriminalises distributing or threatening to distribute intimate images with intent to cause harm (s.2) and recording or distributing them without consent (s.3), plus threatening or grossly offensive communications (s.4);…Official sourceSource →

How people in Ireland see AI

Public opinion on AI →
Survey results, not scored. They show the mood that new AI rules land in.
48%say AI products have more benefits than drawbacks, 2025Ipsos, 2022–25 →49%trust their government to regulate AI responsibly2025Ipsos →43%of employees say they trust AI at work47% use itUniversity of Melbourne and KPMG International →

Ireland beside its peers

All 40 countries →
The two Progress leaders and the countries nearest to Ireland in its region. A dash means no source measures that lens for the country.
MeasureIrelandUnited StatesChinaNorwayDenmarkItaly
Progressfive lenses, 0–10023#2477#174#221#2524#2327#21
Adoptionlens score495656514140
Talentlens score3752—102830
Researchlens score118983112317
Investmentlens score010074000
Infrastructurelens score168883342849
Rulebook0–100867484428291
AI user shareQ2 2026 · Microsoft49.9%33.0%17.5%49.4%32.4%31.4%
Approach to AI lawEU AI Act, plus national lawState laws, no federal AI statuteBinding rules by use caseAI bill in progressEU AI Act, plus national lawEU AI Act, plus national law

More of Europe

Every country →
European Union—Progress97RulebookComprehensive risk-based lawOpen tracker →United Kingdom50Progress54RulebookExisting regulators, no AI statuteOpen tracker →Norway21Progress42RulebookAI bill in progressOpen tracker →Sweden33Progress82RulebookEU AI Act, plus national lawOpen tracker →Finland29Progress80RulebookEU AI Act, plus national lawOpen tracker →Denmark24Progress82RulebookEU AI Act, plus national lawOpen tracker →Netherlands33Progress85RulebookEU AI Act, plus national lawOpen tracker →Belgium18Progress79RulebookEU AI Act, plus national lawOpen tracker →Germany54Progress94RulebookEU AI Act, plus national lawOpen tracker →Poland27Progress76RulebookEU AI Act, plus national lawOpen tracker →France45Progress94RulebookEU AI Act, plus national lawOpen tracker →Switzerland40Progress32RulebookExisting regulators, no AI statuteOpen tracker →Italy27Progress91RulebookEU AI Act, plus national lawOpen tracker →Spain33Progress88RulebookEU AI Act, plus national lawOpen tracker →

Check AI-law news yourself

All our data sources →
Every law on these pages links to its official text and to an independent check. These are the registers and trackers we use, with what each is good for. A headline about a new AI law is real when the official register shows it.
Official registers8
Law and policy trackers4
  • OECD.AI Policy Navigator (formerly National AI Policies & Strategies database; GAIIN)OECDNational AI policy initiatives (strategies, governance bodies, funding, regulation) by jurisdictionUse it for Use as primary verification source for 'national AI strategy exists / date' and governance bodies; link each country page to its OECD.AI country profile
  • IAPP Global AI Law and Policy TrackerIAPP (International Association of Privacy Professionals)AI laws, policies, national strategies and responsible authorities per jurisdictionUse it for Cite as a secondary legal cross-check; link out; do not reproduce
  • Council of Europe Framework Convention (CETS 225) treaty chartCouncil of Europe Treaty Office · Live chart (see coe_convention block)Signature and ratification status of the first binding international AI treatyUse it for Primary source for a 'CoE AI Convention: signed / ratified' field per country
  • Digital Policy AlertDigital Policy Alert (St.Gallen Endowment for Prosperity through Trade) · ContinuousEvent-level tracker of digital policy changes incl. AI rules, by jurisdictionUse it for Use as verification source for law-stage changes; model aiadoption.org's country timeline on its event structure
Country indices11
  • Stanford HAI AI Index Report + Global AI Vibrancy ToolStanford Institute for Human-Centered AIAnnual state-of-AI report; Vibrancy Tool ranks national AI ecosystems (R&D, economy, policy, talent, infrastructure, public opinion, etc.)Use it for Reuse individual underlying indicators (with attribution) rather than the composite; link to Vibrancy Tool for each covered country
  • Tortoise Global AI IndexTortoise MediaNational AI capacity: investment, innovation, implementationUse it for Link out and quote rank with attribution only; do not reuse scores
  • Oxford Insights Government AI Readiness Index 2025Oxford InsightsWhether governments can harness AI for the public goodUse it for Cite as a verification source for governance/policy-capacity; reuse rank with attribution for countries lacking other data
  • Microsoft Global AI Diffusion Report (AI user share)Microsoft (AI Economy Institute / On the Issues)AI user share: % of working-age population (15-64) using generative AI products in the periodUse it for Reuse the per-country AI user share as the core 'adoption' metric with attribution and vintage label; flag method breaks
  • IMF AI Preparedness Index (AIPI)International Monetary Fund · June 2024 (released 25 June 2024); no later update foundMacro-structural readiness to adopt AIUse it for Use as background 'structural readiness' component only; label vintage 2024
  • Global Index on Responsible AI (GIRAI)Global Center on AI GovernanceGovernment commitments and implementation evidence for responsible AIUse it for Cite as verification source for responsible-AI governance; adopt its framework-vs-implementation distinction in aiadoption.org's law status pills
  • AI Safety / Security Institutes network (NAAIMES)Member governments; UK AI Security Institute as coordinatorMembership of the international network of AI safety/evaluation institutesUse it for Field 'has national AI evaluation institute (year)' per country; see safety_institutes block
  • Carnegie Endowment (AI governance research, e.g. China AI safety institute work)Carnegie Endowment for International Peace · Ongoing researchQualitative country analysis of AI governanceUse it for Cite for country narrative paragraphs
  • Brookings: How are countries evaluating AI models?Brookings Institution · Article (date not confirmed)Comparative analysis of national AI evaluation institutesUse it for Cite in safety-institute methodology notes
  • Anthropic Economic Index - geographic report (Anthropic AI Usage Index)AnthropicClaude usage per capita relative to working-age population by country (AUI), plus task mixUse it for Use as secondary adoption metric beside Microsoft; triangulate, never sole sourceLink not yet opened by us
  • Epoch AI dataEpoch AI · ContinuousNotable models, training compute, GPU clusters/data centres by countryUse it for Reuse 'notable models by country' and 'AI supercomputers by country' with attributionLink not yet opened by us
Research and safety4
  • CSET (Center for Security and Emerging Technology)Georgetown University · OngoingData-driven research on AI talent, investment, compute, policy (incl. ETO tools such as AGORA AI governance document set)Use it for Cite AGORA for law-text links; reuse open datasets with attributionLink not yet opened by us
  • International AI Safety ReportExpert panel chaired by Yoshua Bengio, UK-backed secretariat · 2026 edition expected/early 2026 (not verified)Scientific synthesis of general-purpose AI capabilities and risksUse it for Cite in methodology for why safety institutes/evaluation capacity are scored; list which countries sit on the panelLink not yet opened by us
  • Our World in Data - Artificial IntelligenceOur World in Data (Global Change Data Lab) · ContinuousCharts republishing AI data (investment, models, patents, public opinion) by countryUse it for Model chart UX on OWID; reuse CC BY datasets with attributionLink not yet opened by us
  • Artificial AnalysisArtificial Analysis · ContinuousModel benchmarks, price and speed; includes model origin by countryUse it for Use for 'frontier models produced by country' cross-check; citeLink not yet opened by us

How the scores work

Two scores, never added together. Download every score and indicator (CSV).

Progress, 0–100

  1. Five lenses, same for everyone. Adoption, Talent, Research, Investment and Infrastructure. Each lens is the average of its indicators; Progress is the average of the lenses.
  2. Only published numbers. Each indicator is a chart on AI Adoption with its source and CSV, or a public dataset linked on the page (Microsoft AI Diffusion, Epoch AI GPU Clusters).
  3. Scaled so outliers do not swamp the rest. Money, models and compute use a log scale on which the leader scores 100; shares and rates use the range of countries the source covers.
  4. Gaps stay gaps. A source that does not cover a country leaves a dash, never a guess. A country below a source's top-15 list scores 0 on that indicator, and the page says so. The coverage flag shows how many of the 17 indicators measure the country.

Rulebook, 0–100

How complete and binding a country's AI rules are. It does not grade whether the rules are good, strict or lenient. Points come only from laws we have verified against an official source.

Binding AI rulesup to 35
  • An AI law with enforceable duties on companies applies now35
  • Enforceable rules on AI systems apply, but only in part of the country26
  • An AI law with enforceable duties is enacted; its duties start later26
  • A national AI law is in force, but it sets no penalties for companies20
  • An AI bill or official draft is before the legislature or out for consultation10
  • No AI-specific law, bill or official draft0
Institutions, safeguards, international65
  • A national AI strategy, adopted or updated since 20228
  • A body named to oversee or enforce AI rules6
  • An AI safety or evaluation institute6
  • A right to challenge automated decisions, in force12
  • Rules on AI-generated content: labels or deepfake offences, in force13
  • International AI governance initiatives endorsed (of 8)12
  • Council of Europe AI Convention: signed 5, ratified 88
Disclosure: AI Adoption uses AI tools in its research and editorial work. No government, company or lobby group has any say in a country's scores or its law register, and the same rules apply to every country. Editorial standards · Data sources · Corrections
Copied with its source. Want the next number like this in your inbox?Get Friday's numbers