(Alt é seo ónár bhfoireann Gaeltachta.  Is féidir leat an bunleagan as Gaeilge a léamh anseo.)

IRISH LANGUAGE SPEAKERS could be using artificial intelligence-powered chatbots to get responses in Irish regarding public services they are seeking by the end of this year.

The Irish language chatbots that would provide these services are among a handful of use cases cited in a report commissioned by the Gaeltacht development agency from the consultancy firm EY (Ernst & Young).

This report, entitled IS na Gaeilge: Tuarascáil ar Anailís Bearnaí agus ar Léargas ó Páirtithe Leasmhara (AI for Irish: A Gap Analysis Report and Stakeholder Insights), was launched last week.

“The aim of Údarás na Gaeltachta is to launch a voice-to-voice AI proof-of-concept tool for the public sector by the end of 2026, using selected test sites to pilot the solution and assess it in real-world settings,” the report states.

Among the other ways identified in the report in which artificial intelligence could be used through Irish, it is suggested there would be demand for chatbots that would converse with a person seeking to polish their spoken Irish, and that there would be further uses in supporting people to educate themselves based on their interests and abilities.

Regarding chatbots to help people make enquiries with public services about everyday matters — social welfare entitlements, tax affairs, applications for passports or birth and death certificates and the like — the report contains an analysis of the gap that currently exists.

The analysis contends that such an AI tool would ensure that public services are provided through Irish more efficiently, that such a service would be available on a 24/7 basis, that a consistently high standard would be maintained, and that there would also be an opportunity to prompt people to seek the service through Irish.

A cost-based analysis has also been carried out in the report. It is claimed that savings of €440,000 per year would follow on the cost of providing human staff to handle such calls. This estimate is based on figures from the 2022 census which indicated that there were 72,000 daily Irish speakers and that each of them would have one conversation per year with a public service lasting at least five minutes.

In an earlier version of the report, it was stated that this estimated saving was based on 72,000 Irish language conversations, and this was highlighted in an article on Tuairisc.ie.

A spokesperson for Údarás explained that this was an error and that the figure of 72,000 referred to the number of daily Irish speakers. A corrected version of the report is now available.

Further use cases were proposed at a workshop hosted by Údarás na Gaeltachta last year. It was said that AI would be useful for translation and proofreading services, generating podcasts, analysing data and drafting documents.

The report acknowledges that significant progress has not been made in terms of the public service using artificial intelligence technology through Irish.

The absence of Irish language AI in the public service need not be taken as evidence of a lack of ambition or awareness — rather, it could be taken as evidence of a systemic challenge in making the business case for investments of this kind.

The report also recognises that there are technical and operational gaps in using artificial intelligence to provide services through Irish, and that the issue is not one of appetite or a missing legal requirement.

At the launch of the report, Údarás na Gaeltachta chief executive Tomás Ó Síocháin said there was “a tremendous opportunity to embed Irish in Ireland’s digital future.”

“Údarás na Gaeltachta is committed to taking on this coordinating role as we work with partners across the public sector, academia and business to develop AI solutions that serve Gaeltacht communities and Irish speakers nationally and internationally.”

According to EY representative Thomas Goulding, the technology and the political will exist to significantly improve public services through Irish using AI.

Among the steps required to build the capacity to fill the existing gaps and seize the opportunities, it is necessary to develop and use the essential Irish language AI components in a safe environment. These are text-to-speech (TTS), speech-to-text (STT) and large language model (LLM) tools.

Following that, it is recommended that all artificial intelligence capabilities be brought together in one powerful tool and then localised for specific data use cases.

The report provides no indication of the level of investment that would be required to put in place the voice-to-voice service that Údarás is seeking to have operational as a pilot scheme before the end of this year.

The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.

This article was originally written in the reporter’s native Irish and has been translated to English here. AI was used as part of the translation process before final edits.