Some of the country's largest universities have increased their oversight of academic cheating in response to the rise of generative AI.
Last month, RTÉ's This Week reported that 500 instances of cheating using AI was detected by higher-level institutions last year.
However, many of the largest universities in the country including UCD, UCC, UL, Maynooth and Trinity said that they do not distinguish between cheating using AI and other forms of plagiarism.
This means the number of students using AI to cheat is likely significantly higher.
With a follow up request, some of the universities have said that they are changing their oversight of academic cheating.
University College Cork said that from this academic year, beginning last September, an academic misconduct register will be in place which will provide university-wide oversight.
Although the university did not have total figures, there were 46 academic misconduct cases notified to the Student Records and Examinations Office. Of these, 22 arose from unauthorised uses of generative AI.
In a statement UCC said: "We now collect comprehensive data on all forms of academic misconduct defined within the Policy, including the unethical use of generative artificial intelligence.
"This enables the University to better identify trends, manage cases consistently, and respond proactively to emerging challenges within the sector such as AI-related misconduct."
University of Limerick introduced a new academic policy this year which specifically includes generative AI but does not hold centralised records for the year 2024/2025.
Thirty people were sanctioned for academic misconduct at the university level, but this does not include those that were detected and handled at department-level.
Trinity College Dublin does not specifically count uses of AI in their records of academic misconduct and does not yet have data on the number of instances of academic misconduct that took place last year.
However, the university said that incidences of academic misconduct fell last year.
A spokesperson for the university added that the question of how to specifically report AI breaches at Trinity is "under consideration".
UCD did not respond to request for comment.
Maynooth University does not hold centralised records of academic conduct as most are handled at the departmental level.
Only the most serious cases are addressed centrally, of which there were 50 in the last academic year, but the university does not hold records on the kind of academic misconduct that was involved.
Within DCU, unauthorised use of generative AI falls under the 'plagiarism’ category of cheating. There were 181 cases of plagiarism reported to the DCU Faculty Teaching and Learning Committee in 2024, and 223 cases reported in 2025.
DCU has no plans to change how they compile its data on academic misconduct.
University of Galway, which has already changed its academic policy in response to AI, detected 224 cases of unauthorised AI in graded coursework last year.
TU Dublin found 71 students used AI in an unauthorised manner last year and The National College of Ireland found 68 students.
South East Technological University (SETU) does not hold centralised records on academic cheating and only some departments hold records on cases where plagiarism is caught.
Of the departments that did count unauthorised cases of AI in SETU, 12 students were found to have used AI in the academic year 2024/25.
The Higher Education Authority does not require institutions to record unauthorised uses of AI by students in graded coursework separately to other forms of cheating.
However, it points out that this does not alter the responsibilities of universities to ensure academic integrity.
