{"id":530429,"date":"2026-06-11T20:13:16","date_gmt":"2026-06-11T20:13:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/530429\/"},"modified":"2026-06-11T20:13:16","modified_gmt":"2026-06-11T20:13:16","slug":"malcolm-byrne-replaced-as-ai-committee-chair-after-arrest-the-irish-times","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/530429\/","title":{"rendered":"Malcolm Byrne replaced as AI committee chair after arrest \u2013 The Irish Times"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fianna F\u00e1il<\/a> TD Naoise \u00d3 Cear\u00fail<\/a> has been appointed chairman of the Oireachtas committee on artificial intelligence<\/a>, replacing party colleague Malcolm Byrne<\/a> in the role. <\/p>\n

Byrne was arrested on suspicion of drink-driving two weeks ago and stepped down from the chair<\/a> last week \u201cwithout prejudice to the ongoing legal process\u201d.<\/p>\n

On Thursday Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin<\/a> moved to fill the vacancy.<\/p>\n

Fellow Fianna F\u00e1il TD Shane Moynihan<\/a> will replace \u00d3 Cear\u00fail in his former role as chairman of the committee on the Irish language, the Gaeltacht and the Irish-speaking community.<\/p>\n

Committee chairperson roles come with an annual allowance of \u20ac11,442 on top of the basic TD salary of \u20ac119,467.<\/p>\n

\"NaoiseNaoise \u00d3 Cear\u00fail (centre) and Malcolm Byrne (right) outside Leinster House. Photograph: Sam Boal\/Collins <\/p>\n

A Fianna F\u00e1il statement noted \u00d3 Cear\u00fail had almost a decade of experience in the technology sector, including the AI industry, and he had established himself as a \u201cleading voice\u201d in the Oireachtas on the subject. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis technology will touch every sector of society. The decisions we make over the next number of years will help shape Ireland\u2019s economy, labour market and public services for decades to come. It is important that we get those decisions right,\u201d \u00d3 Cear\u00fail said.<\/p>\n

In the D\u00e1il on Thursday, Byrne introduced an AI Bill to protect digital identities and make it an offence to misuse someone\u2019s face, voice or image without permission.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not about someone making up a funny meme, but about malign purposes,\u201d the Wicklow-Wexford TD said.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Ireland could require digital ID to access porn websitesOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

\u201cThe technology now exists that a person\u2019s voice or image could be simulated or replicated in such a way that others can be fooled into thinking it is [authentic].\u201d <\/p>\n

He cited a company that synthesised his voice and reproduced it as a speech in the D\u00e1il, convincing his colleagues.<\/p>\n

The Protection of Voice and Image Bill makes it an offence where someone knowingly uses and \u201cpublishes, performs, distributes, transmits, or otherwise\u201d uses an individual\u2019s name, photograph, voice or likeness for advertising products, events or political activities.<\/p>\n

It is also an offence to use a digital identity for merchandise or to fundraise, solicit donations, sell products or services or influence elections or referendums.<\/p>\n

Minister of State Catherine Ardagh, speaking on behalf of Minister for Justice Jim O\u2019Callaghan, said the Government did not oppose the Bill. She pointed out that for many women and girls in particular \u201cthe unauthorised manipulation of their image or voice is not simply a technological issue, but a deeply personal and traumatic violation of their dignity, privacy, and sense of security\u201d.<\/p>\n

[\u00a0Malcolm Byrne says he will \u2018face the consequences\u2019 after arrest on suspicion of drink-drivingOpens in new window<\/a>\u00a0]<\/p>\n

On May 28th Byrne was stopped at a mandatory Garda checkpoint in Dublin city centre while travelling to the airport. He failed the breathalyser test and was subsequently brought to Pearse Street Garda station, where he provided a urine sample.<\/p>\n

During a recent radio interview, Byrne said that while he was \u201cconstrained a little bit\u201d in what he could say, \u201cdrink-driving is wrong, full stop. That\u2019s the position. It\u2019s an offence, and it is wrong. I can\u2019t say any more, obviously, about my own case pending what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fianna F\u00e1il TD Naoise \u00d3 Cear\u00fail has been appointed chairman of the Oireachtas committee on artificial intelligence, replacing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":519286,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[261],"tags":[291,289,290,4767,18,4771,19,17,42224,5765,170623,4766,82],"class_list":["post-530429","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-dail-eireann","tag-eire","tag-fianna-fail","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-malcolm-byrne","tag-micheal-martin","tag-naoise-o-cearuil","tag-oireachtas","tag-technology"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116733307513156948","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530429","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=530429"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/530429\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/519286"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=530429"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=530429"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=530429"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}