Buckley: Irish artists being ‘ripped off’

A Cork politician has demanded action to protect the livelihoods of Irish artists whose copyright is being undermined by the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

Sinn Féin TD for East Cork, Pat Buckley said Irish artists are being “ripped off” explaining that their copyrighted work is being used, without their consent and without any remuneration, to build systems that spew out ‘AI art’ which directly competes with them.

He said this is making it even harder for Cork’s writers, composers, musicians, performers, actors and other artists to make a living in a field where so many already struggle, and where royalties from copyright are vital to their income.

A Sinn Féin motion on this issue was debated on Tuesday during Sinn Féin’s private members’ business time in the Dáil.

He said Sinn Féin tabled the motion to demand action both here and at European level, to protect the copyright and incomes of artists, to ensure no state funding for art is spent on content produced by AI, and to place the creative sector at the heart of decision-making when it comes to AI policy.

He added: “The economic impact of AI is significant in the arts. We’re talking about a €22 billion cumulative loss for the music and audiovisual sectors over the coming years, including almost a quarter of revenue for music creators.

“One music streaming service, Deezer, found that roughly 44% of daily uploads were AI-generated, and that up to 85% of the streams generated by fully AI-generated tracks in 2025 were fraudulent.

“The European Parliament and majority of EU member states have been clear on the need for a fit-for-purpose copyright framework to address changing technology, and Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of the European Union offers us a chance to take the lead in defending artists.”

Deputy Buckley concluded: “We have taken the time to listen to the many artists and arts organisations who have been demanding action on this issue for some time, including the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO), Screen Composers Guild of Ireland, the Ivors Academy, Irish Recorded Music Association (IRMA), the Irish Writers’ Union (IWU) and Irish Equity.”