EU AI Act Update: Ireland appoints its national competent authorities

On 25 July 2025, the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in Ireland issued the European Union (Artificial Intelligence) (Designation) Regulations 2025 (the “Designation Regulations”) to give further effect to the EU Artificial Intelligence Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/1689) (the “AI Act”). 

In force since August 2024, the AI Act is the world’s first comprehensive legal framework for AI. It categorises AI systems by risk and imposes corresponding obligations, with heightened requirements for high-risk AI systems and general purpose AI models. 

The Designation Regulations officially set out Ireland’s national authorities responsible for carrying out obligations and functions imposed by the AI Act. This includes designating certain bodies with responsibility to oversee compliance and enforcement. These designations are distinct from the prior appointment of certain national authorities for the protection of fundamental rights in relation to the use of high-risk AI systems (which we updated on previously). 

Significance of the Designation Regulations

• Sector-Specific Oversight: The Designation Regulations allocate oversight of AI systems across multiple sectors to match the expertise of existing sectoral market surveillance authorities, from marine and railway regulation to health products and consumer protection. This approach mirrors the AI Act’s emphasis on subject-matter competence and fosters comprehensive enforcement across diverse applications of AI.
• Designated Bodies: The Designation Regulations designate a number of key roles for local implementation and enforcement of the AI Act. These are:
  • National Competent Authorities: These bodies, which include market surveillance authorities under existing harmonised product safety laws, are tasked with supervising the application and implementation of the AI Act in Ireland.
  • Market Surveillance Authorities: New market surveillance responsibilities have been assigned to certain regulators for high-risk AI systems in the financial sector and certain law enforcement and national affairs which engage data protection considerations. 
  • Notifying Authorities: Several bodies are designated with responsibility for assessing and monitoring AI conformity assessment bodies to ensure that high-risk AI systems meet required standards before being placed on the market.
  • Single Point of Contact: One authority is designated to act as the centralised communication channel with the public and counterparts in other EU Member State and the European Commission under Article 70(2) of the AI Act. 

The designated authorities and their roles are:

EU AI Act Guide – now ready to download!

To guide you through the EU AI Act, our multi-disciplinary global team of AI experts has published an updated version of our EU AI Act Guide which summarises key aspects of the new regulation and highlights the most important actions organisations should take in seeking to comply with it. Our EU AI Act Guide is divided into thematic sections, with a speed-read summary and a list of suggested priority action points. It is available in English, Japanese and Chinese.

To access the guide, click here.

For more information on the ongoing implementation of the EU AI Act at European and Irish level and how to prepare for it, please contact Deirdre Kilroy or Kelly Mackey.