The Cabinet will hear that any social media ban for under-16s introduced without evidence and EU alignment would not survive legal challenge.
A memo which the Taoiseach will bring to the Government will state that Ireland is aligned with France on this issue, with that country set to introduce legislation first, while the age verification system is developed here.
Research to gather the views of parents and youths is set to begin soon as the Government seeks to influence EU policy in this area ahead of the beginning of Ireland hosting the EU presidency in the second half of the year.
Ministers will hear the system which is being developed is privacy-protective, legally sound and workable across every device.
The introduction of age restrictions on the use of social media, will form part of a new Digital and AI Strategy being considered by the Cabinet.
The plan will place a strong focus on online safety and it will confirm that legislation is on the way to restrict social media for under-16s.
The first step is a pilot run of an age verification tool which will see young people involved in a trial to assess how it will work in practice.
The strategy will also emphasise the need to keep legislation under review to address certain AI technologies which act as tools to intimidate and harass.
The Government will engage with European Commission to ensure the list of prohibited practices under Article 5 of the EU AI Act remains fit for purpose amid the growing power of AI.
Minister for Social Protection Dara Calleary said the Government will have to "be careful" if the Public Services Card is to be used as part of the age verification method.
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with David McCullagh, the minister said the Department of Communications has indicated that it will engage with his department, adding that the Public Service Card is predominantly designed for social protection services.
On the issue of restricting social media for under 16s, he said: "We're very early days on this yet, but let's not lose sight of why we're doing this. It's to protect our children from the worst excesses of social media.
"I think there's a general agreement that that needs to be done."
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'Lack of joined-up thinking' with Govt plan - Digital Rights Ireland
Digital Rights Ireland Chairperson TJ McIntyre has described the Government's age plans as worrying and represented a "lack of joined-up thinking".
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, he said there had been a lack of consultation on the matter, as well as no examination of it by the Oireachtas.
"This is something that has gone off on what is essentially the whim of the executive without any prior consultation. I would be very concerned that the whole thing is starting off rather half-cocked," he said.
Dr McIntyre, who is also an Assistant Professor at UCD School of Law, said age restrictions for under-16s would be very difficult to legislate for, particularly if a form of government identification would be required for social media access.
"The talk of doing this unilaterally is already, I think, very unrealistic. This is something that can be done, if at all, only at an EU level," he said.
"The difficulty with that is that the Data Protection Commission has already determined on two separate occasions that aspects of the Public Services Card scheme are illegal", adding that "there doesn't seem to have been any thought given to the actual practicalities of age verification in this context."
