Healthcare Unions Demand Consultation Over HSE Artificial Intelligence Strategy

Healthcare unions have called for urgent engagement with health service management after the HSE published an Artificial Intelligence strategy without consulting worker representatives, warning that AI must enhance rather than replace human care.

The ICTU Group of Healthcare Unions responded to the launch of the HSE's Artificial Intelligence for Care Strategy on 12 March 2026, expressing disappointment that a document outlining how AI will be used across the public health service was published without meaningful engagement with those who work in it.

Acting Chair of the Staff Panel of Healthcare Unions and INMO Deputy General Secretary, Edward Mathews, said:

"Unions who represent the vast majority of healthcare workers in the State are rightly concerned that the HSE has ploughed ahead with publishing a document outlining how AI will be used in the public health service without proper consultation with workers."

Mathews continued:

"AI has the potential to contribute to healthcare services but ultimately healthcare is a human profession, and AI carries with it both potential benefits but also great risks. The HSE and the current and future Ministers for Health should not be completely transfixed by AI alone. It must enhance personal care provided to patients not replace it, and be delivered alongside continued investment in growing the public health service workforce ensuring safe staffing in all services."

He added that for AI benefits to be realised and risks properly managed, workers must be involved in both development and implementation, with co-design at the heart of every step, supported by appropriate safeguards, time and resources for staff training on new systems, and clear lines of accountability to protect patients. He described the lack of initial consultation as "a poor beginning to a complex journey."

SIPTU Head of Health Division, Kevin Figgis, said:

"The future of healthcare provision in Ireland must be human-led. The Irish public health service must be seen as an attractive place to work that is at the cutting edge of future technology but is one that is staffed correctly and safely. There is no doubt AI technology has potential in human healthcare but it should not be at the risk of the essential nature of human lead and delivered direct patient care by the members we represent."

Fórsa Head of Health and Welfare Division, Ashley Connolly, confirmed that unions have sought an urgent meeting with the HSE's Chief Technology Officer to discuss implementation of the AI policy, adding: "Any advancement of AI initiatives must be accompanied by appropriate protections to ensure that patient care remains safeguarded through effective human oversight."