In Ireland, 2026 has been one of those years where the AI story shifts from being technology-centric. The developments worth reporting have not been new models or new capabilities, but new scaffolding including frameworks, taskforces and, as of last month, a statutory office. For those of us in vocational and further education, that is better news than another product launch as we move ever so slowly towards a standardised model of implementing and furthering ethical AI in the education sector.
Starting with governance, the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026 was signed into law on 21st of July, and on the 30th of July the AI Office of Ireland (Oifig IS na hÉireann) was formally established, with Paul Byrne appointed as its first Chief Executive. It was due to be operational by 2nd of August, with the date set under the EU AI Act for member states to have their governance architecture in place. Just last autumn, Ireland in fact designated fifteen national competent authorities, from the Data Protection Commission to the Workplace Relations Commission, to collaboratively supervise AI within their existing remits. This effectively creates a single point of contact with the European Commission and the source of technical expertise for regulators who are not, and should not have to become, AI specialists.
Education has moved in parallel with recent development in Ireland’s AI governance. In December 2025, the Higher Education Authority published the National Policy Framework on Generative AI in Teaching and Learning which is the first genuinely national reference point for Irish higher education. The National Policy Framework holds five principles: 1) academic integrity, 2) equity and inclusion, 3) critical engagement and AI literacy, 4) privacy and data governance, and 5) sustainable pedagogy. Altogether, these principles come with practical instruments on AI-resilient assessment, governance and AI Act compliance while hedging away from instructing institutions to either adopt, or to ban. Rather, the framework asks educational institutions to make deliberate, values-based choices and to be able to explain them.
For VET specifically, the most consequential document introduced recently is SOLAS’s Creating Futures 2026-2030, launched on the 6th of May. Impressively, more than 400,000 people took part in further education and training in Ireland in 2025, and the new five-year strategy names AI literacy and green innovation as priority skills areas across SOLAS’s four pillars. However, none of this makes Ireland’s AI policy finished or squared away. While frameworks are comparatively cheaper to create, we must remember that actual implementation takes on more resources and time. As the current taskforce continues to convene, a small win of a framework which institutions can be held to, and a skills strategy that names AI and the climate transition in the same breath is a better foundation than most sectors are working from. It is worth noticing when the unglamorous work gets done.
Article by Jeanette Garcia Kola, Griffith College Dublin
Sources
Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, “AI Office of Ireland established under the AI Regulation Bill 2026, Paul Byrne appointed as CEO” (30 July 2026) https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/news-and-events/department-news/2026/july/20260730.html
Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, “Ireland leads the way in EU AI regulation” (designation of 15 competent authorities), (16 September 2025) https://enterprise.gov.ie/en/news-and-events/department-news/2025/september/20250916.html
Higher Education Authority, Generative AI in Higher Education Teaching & Learning: National Policy Framework, (December 2025) https://www.teachingandlearning.ie/2025/12/22/hea-publishes-national-policy-framework-on-generative-ai-in-teaching-and-learning/
Department of Education, “AI in Schools External Advisory Taskforce to be established” (7 April 2026) https://www.gov.ie/en/department-of-education/press-releases/ai-in-schools-external-advisory-taskforce-to-be-established/
SOLAS, launch of Creating Futures 2026–2030 (6 May 2026) https://www.solas.ie/latest-news/minister-lawless-and-minister-harkin-launch-solas-five-year-further-education-and-training-strategy/
SOLAS, Green Skills 2030 (15 October 2024) https://www.solas.ie/latest-news/solas-launches-green-skills-2030-the-1st-national-further-education-training-fet-strategy-for-the-green-transition/
Central Statistics Office, Data Centres Metered Electricity Consumption 2025 (7 July 2026) https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-dcmec/datacentresmeteredelectricityconsumption2025/keyfindings/
