The Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) has today launched a scoping consultation to inform the development of a National Framework for the Responsible and Safe Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Health and Social Care. 

Commissioned by the Department of Health, HIQA will lead the development of this national framework to ensure that the use of AI in health and social care settings enhances safety, quality and trust for people who rely on these essential services. 

The framework will be used to: 

• promote awareness and encourage good practice among service providers and staff about the responsible and safe use of AI in health and social care services
• support and empower people using health and social care services by increasing understanding of their rights and expectations regarding the use of AI while engaging with those services.

To shape this work, HIQA is seeking input from a broad range of stakeholders, including health and social care professionals, service providers, people using services, advocates, researchers and policy-makers. 

Feedback can be submitted through an online questionnaire or by downloading a feedback form on the consultation webpage and emailing it to HIST@hiqa.ie. The scoping consultation will run for three weeks, with a deadline for receipt of submissions of 5pm on Friday 2 May 2025. 

Rachel Flynn, Director of Health Information and Standards, commented: 

“Through this scoping consultation, we are inviting people to identify key areas that the framework should address and share best practices, insights, and ideas to help ensure that AI is used in a way that enhances health and social care while protecting individuals. 

In health and social care settings, AI has the potential to enhance efficiencies and improve care delivery, for example, through supporting clinical decision-making and streamlining administrative processes. At the same time, it is essential that a person-centred approach is taken in order to fully realise the benefits while balancing the rights of people accessing these services.

At the end of this scoping consultation, feedback will be collated and used to help inform the development of the framework which will ultimately serve as guidance for services and organisations to adopt and use AI safely and responsibly, putting people at the centre of care.”

The feedback received during this scoping consultation will be used to develop a draft National Framework for the Responsible and Safe Use of Artificial Intelligence in Health and Social Care. Further feedback from stakeholders on the draft National Framework will be sought via public consultation later this year.

ENDS

For further information please contact:

Marty Whelan, Head of Communications and Stakeholder Engagement 
085 805 5202 | mwhelan@hiqa.ie 

Notes to the Editor:

• In the coming months, HIQA will conduct a public consultation on the draft National Framework for the Responsible and Safe Use of Artificial Intelligence in Health and Social Care, which will be available for comment for a period of six weeks on our website.
• As an independent statutory body established to promote safety and quality in the provision of health and social care services, HIQA is responsible for developing national standards, recommendations and guidance to support the Irish digital health and health information landscape to ensure safer, better care for people using health and social care services.
• The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment’s AI- Here for Good National Strategy, serves as a roadmap for how Ireland can leverage the potential of AI through a people-centred, ethical approach to AI development, adoption and use.
• The EU Artificial Intelligence (AI) Act 2024 establishes a harmonised regulatory framework for AI systems developed or deployed in the EU. It is designed to provide a high level of protection to people’s health, safety, and fundamental rights and to simultaneously promote the adoption of human-centric, trustworthy AI. The use of AI in Ireland will be governed by the Act.
• The Department of Health and the HSE have commenced the development of an AI in Health Strategy (as committed to in the Programme of Government 2025) to promote and support innovation and digital transformation in health and the responsible and safe use of AI in health and social care services.