The AI Act in Ireland: AI Office, 13 sector supervisors, and what SMEs should check

Ireland's implementing law

The Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Act 2026 was signed on 21 July. S.I. No. 403/2026 brought most of it into operation on 31 July, subject to two specified exceptions in the section 78 definition used for the Part 6 adjudication process. S.I. No. 404/2026 made 31 July the legal establishment day for Oifig IS na hÉireann, the AI Office of Ireland.

The Act makes the Office the central coordinator and national single point of contact. Its documentation, inspection and compulsory-information framework was not deferred to December: the relevant Act provisions commenced in July, and S.I. No. 405/2026 designates the Office as a market-surveillance authority.

Who supervises your business

Ireland's distributed model comprises the AI Office and thirteen existing sector bodies designated for market surveillance. Two ministers also act as notifying authorities; counting them produces fifteen pre-existing national competent authorities, but it would be inaccurate to call all fifteen enforcement regulators.

The designation instrument assigns narrow sector and use-case remits. It does not support a shortcut such as 'all data matters go to the DPC' or 'most businesses go to the CCPC'. Use the AI Office's live authority register and S.I. No. 405/2026 to identify the body for the system and activity in question.

What to do before December

Complete an AI inventory, put Article 4 literacy measures and evidence in place, fix any applicable chatbot or content disclosures, and identify which authority covers the use in question. A dated record is easier to maintain before an information request than to reconstruct afterwards.