The Minister for Health and the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment have been urged to appoint an independent regulator and commissioner to oversee AI, alongside a national strategy to chart the course of AI in healthcare over the next five years.
The call was made by “a Citizens Jury,” a group of 24 individuals, representative of the population of Ireland and organised by IPPOSI—the Irish Platform for Patient Organisations, Science and Industry.
They convened from September to December 2024 to offer the public’s perspective on this complex topic.
They endorsed the early, low-risk deployment of high-quality, human-monitored AI tools in helping alleviate pressures on the healthcare system, in pioneering advances in treatment and care, and in empowering individuals to take a more active role in their own health.
However, in so doing, they emphasised the need for strong regulation, transparent oversight and robust data security. In this regard, one of the key recommendations agreed to build public trust in AI was the establishment of a statutory regulator to oversee the use of AI in healthcare. This body would be responsible for developing and enforcing standards for those using AI, including its licensing, data governance, and monitoring, as well as imposing penalties for breaches. It would also publish compliance reports to advance the development of AI technologies in healthcare that were secure, transparent and accountable.
To complement the work of the regulator, the group also called for the creation of a separate independent Commissioner for AI in Healthcareto serve as a public interest watchdog and protect patient rights.. The Commissioner would also operate a complaints process for members of the public.
With AI potentially involved in everything from managing waiting lists, to analysing x-rays, to undertaking robotic surgery, they emphasised the importance of transparency, patient autonomy and informed consent. While supporting the automatic enrolment of individual health data for training AI, they agreed that people must be clearly informed and given the option to opt out. They also recommended that patients had the right to be informed when AI was involved in their healthcare and, where feasible, be given the choice to receive diagnosis or treatment without AI involvement.
Among some of the other recommendations were:
- Humans in the Loop—the jury emphasised the importance of human oversight and control over AI-enabled care. While AI can augment and support clinicians, it cannot replace them
- Public education campaign—the jury called for a national initiative to communicate to the public about the use of AI across the health system—what it is, what role it plays in care, and how it may involve their personal health data
- National Strategy—the jury suggested that a national strategy detailing the role of AI in healthcare be published by quarter one of 2026, building on the National Artificial Intelligence Strategy published in 2021. This would provide renewed focus on specific ethical and regulatory considerations within the health sector, as well as on stakeholder rights and responsibilities, timelines for implementation, etc.
