Rose Conway-Walsh: AI must not rip off Irish artists
Rose Conway-Walsh addressed the Minister in a Private Members' Business session, urging immediate action to protect Irish artists from AI-driven copyright abuse. She challenged the Minister to uphold commitments on international copyright coordination and to stop the mass theft of creative work.
Commitments and coordination
Rose Conway-Walsh acknowledged her colleague work for the arts and welcomed the Minister's steps on Ireland coordinating the EU position at the World Intellectual Property Organisations and the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights. She also noted the importance of the conference 'Copyright and Human Creativity in an AI era' organised by rights holders and called on the Minister to keep those commitments.
Rights and risks
Conway-Walsh recognised the opportunities AI brings for business and public services but warned that innovation cannot come at the expense of Irish artists or the constitutional property rights that protect creative work. She framed the issue as a systemic risk beyond individual cases and insisted on prioritising legal protections.
Labour and livelihoods
The speaker highlighted the real-world impact on working artists, noting that most are not global superstars but professionals facing low pay, precarious work and poor conditions. She accused platforms and systems of enabling widespread appropriation of artists' work and placed the responsibility squarely with the Minister to stop the harm.
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Minister, first I want to acknowledge the huge work that my colleague Angus O'Snutty puts into the arts time and time again and the fact that this is our last PMB before we break up from here I think shows the real importance of what we're trying to do here and I welcome some of the things in your speech, particularly around Ireland coordinating the EU's position at the World Intellectual Property Organisations and the Standing Committee on Copyright and Related Rights but also the conference, the Copyright and Human Creativity in an AI era organised by rights holders and that's really really important as well and it's really important that you keep the commitments that you have made here. I have acknowledged the enormous opportunities AI presents for businesses, for public services and individuals but that innovation cannot come at the expense of Irish artists and it cannot come at the cost of constitutional property rights of all our artists. There is a much, beyond even the individual damage that's been done here, there is a much wider area that we absolutely have to prioritise and we have to ensure that we preserve but up until recently behind every song, behind every book, painting and performance was a talented artist whose work was the product of real talent, skill, expertise and years of dedication. The fact is Minister that Irish artists are being ripped off, they're being ripped off and the ball is in your court and you have the authority and indeed the responsibility to stop that happening, to stop them being ripped off. There is mass theft happening in plain sight, I think you recognise that but the responsibility comes down to you at this particular time. Most artists are not global superstars earning millions, they're hard working professionals trying to make a living in a sector that's already marked by low pay, precarious work and poor working conditions. This is really, really important.
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