AI can be used to create drafts of government reports, say new guidelines
IT IS ACCEPTABLE for draft versions of reports produced by the public service to be created by artificial intelligence, say new guidelines released today.
The Department of Public Expenditure and Public Service Reform has published new guidelines setting out what it considers to be 'responsible use of AI in the public service'.
The public service includes civil servants working in government departments and State agencies as well as wider public sector workers in areas like education, healthcare and the justice system.
The guidelines outline the type of tasks that AI can be used to support work in the public service.
These include using AI to provide chatbots on government websites, language translation, algorithms for decision-making, policy analysis, and content generation, such as text, images, audio or video.
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The guidelines list examples of the type of content that AI can be used to generate in the public service, including analysing lengthy documents and generating summaries or draft versions of reports containing the most important data points and insights.
Other acceptable examples it provides are the automatic generation of language translations of government publications and the creation videos or infographics for public awareness campaigns.
AI can also be used in the public service for identifying and categorising data, detecting and monitoring patterns, and forecasting future trends, the guidelines detail.
Pros and cons
The guidelines say that AI has 'the potential to transform Irish Public Services, making them more efficient, fair, and responsive'.
Currently, St. Vincent's University Hospital is exploring the potential for AI to assist with performing heart ultrasound scans, which could help to reduce waiting times for patients.
The Department of Agriculture is developing an AI-supported solution to detect errors in grant applications that could reduce processing times for applications.
'AI offers immense possibilities to improve the provision of public services,' said Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Jack Chambers.
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Minister of State for AI Niamh Smyth added that AI can be used for 'unlocking productivity, addressing social challenges and delivering enhanced services'.
However, the guidelines also identify several potential risks associated with using AI in public services.
One of the risks is AI systems could reinforce biases in data, leading to unintended discrimination.
There's also a risk that complex algorithms can make AI-driven decisions difficult to understand, which in turn could affect public trust.
And automated AI systems can lack flexibility, risking a loss of the 'human touch' in public services.
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The Journal
32 minutes ago
- The Journal
'Remigration': The far right's plan to expel non-white people from Europe
WHITE NATIONALISTS ACROSS Europe have for more than a decade promoted a policy called 'remigration', which despite its innocuous-sounding name is a plan to expel non-white people from the continent. Now, far-right activists and fringe political parties in Ireland are joining that chorus of extremists. In doing so, they are continuing to take inspiration from anti-immigration movements abroad and attempting to introduce their talking points into Irish politics. On 17 May, members of the far-right National Party attended a 'Remigration Summit' in Italy, and at an anti-immigration rally in Dublin city centre on 26 April, they marched down O'Connell Street chanting: 'Save the nation, remigration!' The National Party's only elected representative, Patrick Quinlan of Fingal County Council, repeated the call in a speech he made at the Customs House on the same day. 'Ireland belongs to the Irish people. We must start a policy of mass remigration,' Quinlan told a crowd of thousands gathered along the quays who chanted: 'Get them out! Get them out!' 'We'll shut the borders, we'll house the people, we'll rekindle our ancestors' divine fire,' Quinlan said. The party's youth wing also turned up selling the same message – the mass expulsion of immigrants and those who do not fit their definition of Irishness. Quinlan is not the only Irish politician to call for 'remigration'. Dublin City Councillor Gavin Pepper did so last year on social media , while complaining about crimes committed by Muslims in Ireland. Gavin Pepper and Patrick Quinlan were contacted by The Journal and offered an opportunity to respond. And at the summit in Italy, National Party member John McLoughlin said that while his party does not advocate violence, when 'our people reach breaking point, you most certainly won't be able to depend on the likes of me or any other political leaders here to hold them back'. Opponents of 'remigration', he said, should think twice because 'it's not our last hope to save ourselves, it's their last hope'. The Journal sought to contact John McLoughlin via social media and the National Party, but received no response by the time of publication. Those on the far-right fringe in Ireland are following the lead of more established anti-immigration parties (and right-wing extremist groups) elsewhere in Europe, who have made mainstreaming 'remigration' their goal. In the last year or so, they've begun to see some success. It's great to have young men stepping up, Fair play John and well done on representing the party. — Cllr. Patrick Quinlan (@PQuinlanNP) May 25, 2025 What does 'remigration' mean? Those who call for 'remigration' want to see non-white people expelled from Europe en masse, regardless of their citizenship, legal status or place of birth. This, according to those who support the idea, can be done forcibly or through incentivising people to leave a country voluntarily. The term 'remigration' has long been used in academia to describe people returning to their countries of origin voluntarily, like refugees returning to their home countries after World War II, for example. More recently, the word has been hijacked by supporters of Identitarianism - a pan-European, ethnonationalist movement that began in France in the 2000s. Remigration is the only ticket to make Europe European again! 👉🏻 Get yours now (in the comments below) and join us in that fight on Saturday the 17th of May in Milano, 🇮🇹 Let's make history together ✈️ ! — Remigration Summit 26 (@resum25) March 24, 2025 Identitarians are racial segregationists. They oppose multiculturalism, globalisation and immigration in general, all of which they see as existential threats to the white populations and national cultures of Europe. Like other far-right groups, they are particularly concerned with demonising Muslims and often try to stoke fears of 'Islamisation'. In a 2019 report , the Institute for Strategic Dialogue – a think tank focused on combatting extremist ideologies – described 'remigration' as 'essentially a non-violent form of ethnic cleansing'. A general election poster erected by a grouping of far-right parties, including the National Party Telegram - The irish People Telegram - The irish People If 'remigration' is the goal of white nationalists, the animating fear behind it is the 'Great Replacement' conspiracy theory , which casts foreigners – especially Arabs – as an invading force marshalled by global elites whose objective is to wipe out white people. The 'Great Replacement' theory featured on general election posters erected last year by a grouping of far-right Irish parties that included the National Party, the Irish People party and Ireland First. It also came up in the speech delivered by the Nationals Party's John McLoughlin in Italy, when he talked about 'ethnic replacement', casting out 'the invader' and referred to asylum seeker accommodation buildings as 'plantation centres'. He compared British control of the six counties in the north to how 'Germany lost Frankfurt to Turkey, or France lost Paris to Algeria'. As is typical with proponents of the theory, which originated in France, McLoughlin inverted the real history of the French invading and colonising Algeria. He also said those who oppose 'remigration' aim to deny its supporters 'the very heritage of our ancestors, carved in stone and soil'. During the speech, McLoughlin made repeated references to soil, and the phrase 'stone and soil' has echoes of the Nazi slogan 'blood and soil'. He also said the National Party stands for 'excellence over equality'. National Party members represented Ireland today at the Remigration Summit 2025 in Milan. Many thanks to the conference organisers for hosting such a thoroughly well-run event despite interference from multiple state governments and their leftist foot soldiers. Remigration is… — The National Party | An Páirtí Náisiúnta (@NationalPartyIE) May 17, 2025 As Quinlan and McLoughlin did in their speeches, Irish adherents to the theory cast their project as one of liberation, and resistance to the 'invasion' and 'plantation' of Ireland. They do so using language that invokes the Irish struggle against British rule and colonialism. Quinlan said in his speech that Ireland has lost 'that holy fire that blazed in our patriot dead'. Advertisement 'They were able to conquer tyranny because of that fire,' he said. Elsewhere in Europe, white nationalists call for a new 'Reconquista', a reference to the campaign by Christian kingdoms to retake land conquered by Muslims in the Iberian Peninsula centuries ago. Anti-immigration protesters gather at the Customs House in Dublin. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo Who has called for 'remigration'? 'Remigration' has been promoted by far-right political parties and extremist groups in a number of European countries over the last ten years or so. More recently, it's found expression in Canada, Australia and, most notably, in the United States. Those who promote the idea aim to bring it into mainstream political discourse, which was the purpose of the ' Remigration Summit' that took place in Italy on 17 May. In 2024 the vision of Remigration became the hope of our entire continent. In 2025 we will organize the first Remigration Summit: in May we will gather activists, journalists and politicians to unite our ideas, reach and influence. If we work together, Remigration is inevitable. — Remigration Summit 26 (@resum25) January 1, 2025 The most prominent exponent of the idea in the European context has been the far-right German political party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which came second in this year's federal election with just over 20% of the vote. The AfD has been officially labelled a right-wing extremist group by Germany's domestic intelligence agency (BfV) and one of its members has been convicted for using banned Nazi-era slogans . The party also has documented ties with neo-Nazi groups. The BfV said the AfD aims 'to exclude certain population groups from equal participation in society, subject them to unconstitutional discrimination, and thus assign them a legally devalued status'. Ahead of this year's election, AfD leader Alice Weidel endorsed the idea of 'remigration' at a party conference, where she talked about 'large-scale repatriations'. 'And I have to be honest with you, if it's going to be called remigration, then that's what it's going to be: remigration,' she said, making a U-turn on a topic that had brought intense scrutiny upon her party only a year previous. AfD leader Alice Weidel gives a speech at a party conference in Riesa, Germany. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo In 2024, the policy was deemed too extreme by another major player in far-right European politics, Marine Le Pen's National Rally party in France, after a report by Correctiv exposed a secret meeting between AfD members, neo-Nazis and like-minded businesspeople, at which 'remigration' was the main talking point. Reports of the meeting led to massive demonstrations across Germany. National Rally, which itself has Nazi-sympathising roots , and the AfD have since broken off their alliance in the EU Parliament. Another far-right French politician, Éric Zemmour, has called for a ministry of 'remigration' to be established. In Austria, the idea has been promoted by the leader of the Freedom Party (FPO), Herbert Kickl. The party laid out plans to create 'Fortress Austria' ahead of parliamentary elections in 2024, in which it won around 29% of the vote. The FPO has also called for the EU to have a 'remigration commissioner' . FPO leader Herbert Kickl at a party meeting in Vosendorf, Austria. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo In Sweden, 'remigration' is government policy, although it does not involve forcing people to leave the country. Sweden does not strip people of their citizenship or refugee status, unlike the more extreme ideas promoted elsewhere in Europe. The Swedish government incentivises people to leave voluntarily by offering them money, something Denmark also does. And then there is the case of the United States since Donald Trump won the presidency for a second time. There, the term has become more common since the 2024 election campaign, when Trump himself used it in a Truth Social post attacking his Democratic opponent Kamala Harris. Trump wrote: 'As President I will immediately end the migrant invasion of America. We will stop all migrant flights, end all illegal entries, terminate the Kamala phone app for smuggling illegals (CBP One App), revoke deportation immunity, suspend refugee resettlement, and return Kamala's illegal migrants to their home countries (also known as remigration).' US President Donald Trump's Truth Social post about immigration Source: Truth Social While Trump did effectively freeze all refugee resettlement on his first day in office, he also signed an executive order intended to provide white South Africans asylum status. He has also said white people in South Africa are being subjected to 'genocide', a common myth among white nationalists. Since coming to power, the Trump administration has been expelling people from the US under dubious pretexts, some of whom have a right to reside in the country and others who are in fact American citizens . The US president's use of the term 'remigration' was celebrated by those in Europe who have sought to mainstream it, including the well-known Austrian white nationalist Martin Sellner , who hailed it as a 'victory'. 'Remigration has had a massive conceptual career,' Sellner wrote on X. 'Born in France, popularised in German-speaking countries, and now a buzzword from Sweden to the USA!' Last week, the US State Department sent a plan to congress that would transform the government agency that oversees immigration into an 'Office of Remigration'. Implementing 'remigration' as envisioned by extremists like Martin Sellner would involve a state either revoking or breaking its own laws around citizenship. It would also mean withdrawing from international treaties that guarantee people the right to seek asylum. This is why Germany's AfD has been labeled a right-wing extremist organisation, because its intention is to violate the country's constitution and deny citizens their most fundamental rights. Need more clarity and context on how migration is being discussed in Ireland? Check out our FactCheck Knowledge Bank for essential reads and guides to finding good information online. Visit Knowledge Bank The Journal's FactCheck is a signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network's Code of Principles. You can read it here . For information on how FactCheck works, what the verdicts mean, and how you can take part, check out our Reader's Guide here . You can read about the team of editors and reporters who work on the factchecks here . Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... It is vital that we surface facts from noise. Articles like this one brings you clarity, transparency and balance so you can make well-informed decisions. We set up FactCheck in 2016 to proactively expose false or misleading information, but to continue to deliver on this mission we need your support. Over 5,000 readers like you support us. If you can, please consider setting up a monthly payment or making a once-off donation to keep news free to everyone. Learn More Support The Journal
RTÉ News
35 minutes ago
- RTÉ News
'Old school, new school' – Knight leading by example for Ireland
It was almost the perfect season for Ireland midfielder Jason Knight, as the Dubliner captained Bristol City all the way to the Championship play-offs, only to fall at the Premier League's penultimate hurdle. An ever-present in the Robins' side that finished sixth in the table, Knight's club season came to a close when losing out to Sheffield United in the play-off semi-finals in early May. On a positive note, Knight completed the clean sweep of in-house accolades, as he was named fans, players, former players, and senior Reds' player of the year, following a commanding season leading his side from the heart of the midfield. Knight has taken a short stint away to lick his wounds, enjoy some sunshine, and report back for international duty ahead of two final fixtures, against Senegal on Friday night, followed by an away trip to Luxembourg. "We've had a really good campaign, we fell short towards the end, but a really progressive campaign for the club and for myself as well," said Knight, speaking at Tuesday's press conference. "The first season at Bristol was good, I played a lot of games and then obviously progressed this season, scored a few goals, got assists, and played a lot of games as well. "Probably went into more of a leadership kind of role, being captain. So I've enjoyed it." And Knight said that he is comfortable taking leadership whether at club or country, and feels that it has come naturally to him, as he has always looked to take responsibility on the pitch. "I've tried to do that since I've come in [to Ireland squad]," he said. "I've been a loud character as well, I try and lead on the pitch. So it wouldn't really change for me. "I've been around a little bit now in the Irish set-up, so it is time for everyone to step up, and that means senior players, and players who have played a lot as well, to help the lads who have come in as well sort of get into the group and normalise around the place as well. So that's what we have to do as well. "I've had a couple of weeks off, got the feet up and got some sun so I'm ready to go. I've got a few games now and I can have another couple of weeks off after that." Missing out on promotion this season, Knight's performances will certainly have gained attention from top-flight clubs, however, while the ambition remains to play Premier League football, he is not looking to force the issue at this stage of his career. "I've obviously had a good season, I'm enjoying myself at Bristol," said Knight. "I want to be ambitious. I want to play in the top division. "But I'm relaxed, if it's now or in the future, that will be. I've just got to keep performing well to get to that point." "Not that I've heard anyway," he added, when asked had there been any interest. "It's been a bit quiet for the last couple of weeks, just with the season ending. It's been a long season, so nothing so far." Sitting next to Knight at the press conference was Ireland assistant coach, John O'Shea, and the former Manchester United and Sunderland defender spoke highly of the midfielder and has been particularly impressed with the consistency that has come with playing every game of the season at club level. And he also spoke about the quality and leadership that comes as part of the package when Knight is involved with the national team. "There is consistency in the numbers," said O'Shea, regarding Knight. "He mentions the games that he has played and it is a case of he is naturally leading now, vocally but also performance and intensity-wise. "If we are doing a drill in training, you know if Knighty is involved in it then it is going to take care of itself and that is brilliant for a coaching staff, to have that and to see that reliability. "It's also a trust to know what he is going to produce for the team as well. He has grown into the role for club and country. "I'm sure there's lots of people looking at him and I'm sure Bristol City are very happy with him too. There's always that element of him being new school and old school, but it is a good school that he is from. Hopefully it continues." As for Knight, there is no place that he would rather be that embedded in the Ireland camp, despite the fact that he is missing out on valuable time away from the hectic schedule of the English Championship. "I could be in Albufeira, you're right," he laughed. "No, look, there's always time for holidays. I know I'm young, but I know these caps and these opportunities are gold dust and I'm trying to grab them as much as I can. "This is the dream, this is where I want to be and I'm excited to be here for these two games and hopefully many more."
The Irish Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
Rugby legend makes touching gesture to Louise Quinn following tearful Ireland star's final game before retirement
DONNCHA O'CALLAGHAN comforted Louise Quinn after she played her final game for the Republic of Ireland. The popular defender came on for Carla Ward near the end of Ireland's 2 Louise Quinn played her final game for Ireland against Slovenia Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile 2 She was comforted by Donncha O'Callaghan Credit: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile It was her 122nd and last cap for her country, and her last game in professional soccer before retiring altogether. The tears flowed upon the final whistle at Pairc Ui Chaoimh as Quinn gave the post-match team-talk while being embraced by teammates. When she went over to the stands at the home of Present at the game was former star Donncha O'Callaghan, who made the point of sharing a moment with Quinn. Read More on Ireland WNT The legendary defender bids farewell to an international career that peaked when she starred at the 2023 And speaking to She said: "I think it will take a little bit of time but I just feel like where we have come as a team and to now, you can see that progress. "We were a nation that was really struggling and to be part of something that has built to where it is now, I am so proud. Most read in Football "To make it this far and I am still in one piece, I am pretty happy." Louise Quinn was not the only player for whom Tuesday night was an emotional occasion. 'You can't make this up' - Irish fans in stitches at Ruesha Littlejohn's playful prank upon Katie McCabe's camp arrival Saoirse Noonan scored the only goal of the game as the striker achieved an unexpected feat of her own. By starting for the In 2020, she played full forward for the Rebelettes against She described it as a "surreal" occasion and revealed how much it would mean to her family. Noonan said: 'Carla called the team last night. "When I got the nod, I just told my parents and kept it a bit quiet and just tried to treat it like another game. 'The goal, when it went in and hit off my head, I could just see it dipping. I don't even know how I celebrated or anything. 'I just had a little moment, took a deep breath and was back into focus, we wanted to get that next goal quick. 'My Grandad would have been a proud man tonight, he would have been at every game with my granny, and this was the first time she's seen me play senior (for Ireland). "It was emotional and it meant a lot to me. 'Being in Cork is enough motivation in itself. Wearing the Irish jersey is enough motivation. "You don't need anything else really. It does add that little bit of grit. 'Since the new stadium's been built, I played here with the Cork ladies footballers at senior level. "To come back wearing a different shirt, it's the same feeling, you're representing something you're really proud of. "It's phenomenal.'
