Letter to the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment
Jean Carberry
Assistant Secretary,
Digital, EU and Climate Programme Division,
Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment,
23 Kildare Street,
Dublin 2.
17 April 2026
Re: Human rights and equality considerations in the International AI Summit 2026 programme
Dear Ms Carberry,
I write to you in respect of the International AI Summit 2026, to be held on 14 October, as part of the Presidency of the Council of the European Union. The purpose of this letter is to welcome the upcoming AI Summit and draw your attention to the imperative of including discussion and consideration of fundamental rights in the programme for the event, given that human rights and equality principles are a critical element in the roll out of trustworthy AI.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (’IHREC’) is both the ‘A’ status national human rights institution and the national equality body for Ireland. The Commission is also a designated fundamental rights authority pursuant to Article 77 of the European Union Artificial Intelligence Act (EU AI Act).[1]
During the 2026 Presidency of the Council of the European Union, Ireland has a vital opportunity to lead Europe’s adoption and progressive use of AI. This must include preserving fundamental rights protections in law and actively promoting and implementing effective regulation through the lifecycle of AI. Innovation and competitiveness must not come at the expense of transparency, accountability and fundamental rights safeguards.[2]
We note the European Commission’s ‘Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI’, that detail the key requirements AI systems should meet to be trustworthy. These requirements go beyond technical robustness and safety and include human agency and oversight, privacy and data governance, transparency, diversity, non-discrimination and fairness, societal and environmental wellbeing and accountability.[3]
In 2025, Ireland made a welcome statement at the Human Rights Council on ‘the need for ethical artificial intelligence governance guided by transparency, accountability and human rights frameworks, such as the UN Guiding Principles.’[4] We also welcome the repeated commitments to protecting the fundamental rights of citizens in the recently published National Digital and AI Strategy 2030, and the commitments to effective, coherent implementation of the EU AI Act and a predictable, efficient and responsive regulatory system.[5]
We see the upcoming International AI Summit 2026 as an opportunity for the Government to demonstrate this commitment in practice and show its alignment with the European Commission guidelines. This should include the promotion and platforming of strategic dialogue on the value of effective AI regulation, with reference to fundamental rights and in the context of AI governance and trustworthy AI. It is critical that experts in the field of human rights and equality are represented both as speakers and panellists, as well as participants at the event.
We are available to support any aspect of the programming as it relates to human rights and equality. For example, we would be happy to provide you with some suggestions for speakers who are expert in the field of AI and human rights, for your consideration.
Our Chief Commissioner, Liam Herrick, has also recently written to Minister Niamh Smyth proposing a meeting to discuss issues related AI and Human Rights, including the General Scheme of the Regulation of AI, IHREC’s role as an Article 77 body and the AI Summit, and we are looking forward to her response.
Yours faithfully,
Deirdre Malone
Director
Footnotes
1 See IHREC, Observations on the General Scheme of the Regulation of Artificial Intelligence Bill 2026 (March 2026).
2 European Commission, Excellence and Trust in Artificial Intelligence (2019).
3 European Commission, Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI (2019). We also note the statutory duty on public bodies to have regard to human rights and equality in the design, procurement and/or oversight of outcomes from using AI in the performance of its functions. See Section 42 of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Act 2014.
4 Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Ireland's Statements, Human Rights Council (59th Session), Interactive Dialogue with the with Working Group on Transnational Corporations (19 June 2025).
5 Department of the Taoiseach, Digital Ireland Connecting our People, Securing our Future (2026).