Accountants and solicitors · Ireland
AI for accountancy practices and solicitors in Ireland
A practice runs on words: engagement letters, Pay and File reminders, attendance notes, replies to the same client question for the fortieth time. AI drafts those well. It also gets tax rules and case law wrong with total confidence, and a client file pasted into the wrong tool is a confidentiality problem. This page covers both halves.
From £295 (about €350)
Based in the UK, working by video with businesses in Ireland. Ireland is on the same time as the UK.
What your professional bodies have said
In November 2025 the Law Society of Ireland issued guidance on generative AI for solicitors. It warns of inaccurate AI material in legal submissions abroad, flags confidentiality and privilege, and urges firms to set safeguards. For a practice, that means deciding which tools are approved, for which tasks, and who checks output before it reaches a client or a court.
On the accountancy side, Chartered Accountants Ireland, which has passed 40,000 members, published a position paper in May 2026 arguing that accountants stay central as the people providing governance, ethical oversight and assurance. The professional judgement stays yours, whichever software produced the first draft.
Jobs in an Irish practice that AI can help with
- Pay and File remindersA plain letter to self-assessed clients on what you need from them and by when. For 2025 Form 11 returns filed and paid through ROS, Revenue set the date as 18 November 2026. A person checks every date before it goes out.
- Engagement letters and terms of businessFirst drafts from your own precedents, adjusted for the client and the work. Not from a blank prompt.
- File and document summariesA long lease, a set of title documents or a bundle of correspondence summarised for the fee earner, who reads the source for anything that matters.
- Attendance notes and meeting minutesNotes from a recorded client meeting, where the client has agreed, tidied into your format with actions listed.
- A practice manual assistantStaff ask how the office handles an AML check or a file closure, and it answers only from your manual.
- Client newslettersBudget changes explained for clients from sources you pick, ready for a partner to edit.
Where the checking sits
Most of the value of AI in a practice comes from being clear about who reviews what.
| Task | What AI does | Who signs it off |
|---|---|---|
| Client tax letter | Drafts in your house style | The accountant, who checks every figure and date |
| Requisitions or replies on title | Summarises documents and drafts a list of points | The solicitor, against the original documents |
| Case law or legislation | Not used for this without full source checking | The solicitor, using proper legal databases |
| Bookkeeping queries | Suggests categories, if your software offers it | The bookkeeper, before anything is posted |
| Marketing email to clients | Drafts the copy | A partner, plus a consent check on the mailing list |
General guidance only. Your professional body's rules come first.
Client data, the AI Act and your software
Client files are personal data, and some hold special category data such as health details in a personal injury claim. The Data Protection Commission's guidance on AI expects you to know whether a tool keeps or reuses what's typed into it. In practice that means business accounts with training switched off, the least detail needed, and nothing identifiable in free consumer tools.
Article 4 of the EU AI Act also applies to a practice that uses AI: you're expected to take measures to support your staff's AI literacy. Our team workshop is built for that.
Check your own software too. Xero has added an AI assistant called JAX, and other practice and accounts packages are adding similar features. Each one sends data somewhere, so it belongs in your AI policy alongside ChatGPT, Copilot or Gemini.
One client email, start to finish
-
The question arrives
A sole trader emails on a Sunday in November asking what they still owe and whether they can pay in instalments. Your assistant in Microsoft 365 drafts a reply from your template and the file note. -
A person checks it
On Monday the accountant opens the draft, confirms the figure and the ROS date against the file, deletes a sentence that promised too much, and sends it. -
It's logged
The email and the final answer sit in the client's file as usual. Nothing went to an outside tool, and no decision about the client's tax was made by the AI.
What we offer Irish practices
Sterling prices; euro figures are a guide at the October 2026 rate. Irish cards work at checkout; invoices are available too. The policy isn't legal advice, and we're not lawyers or accountants.
For enquiries from new clients
We're also building the JHC Sector Agent, a WhatsApp agent on your own business number that answers routine questions, books a first call and hands over to a person. It's in build, with no launch date yet. If that sounds useful for your firm, join the early list. In the meantime, a website assistant can be quoted now.
Questions people ask
Can solicitors in Ireland use ChatGPT?
The Law Society's 2025 guidance doesn't ban it, but it stresses confidentiality, privilege and checking every output. A business account, a firm policy and no client-identifying detail in consumer tools is the safer pattern.
Do Irish accountancy firms need AI Act training?
If staff use AI tools at work, Article 4 expects the firm to take measures to support their AI literacy. Practical training on the tasks they actually do, with a record kept, is a reasonable response.
What should an AI policy for an Irish practice cover?
Which tools are approved, what client data may and may not go into them, who checks output, and how mistakes are reported. Ours is one page, with a separate staff guide.
Can AI draft tax advice for clients?
It can draft the letter, but it often gets rules and dates wrong. The accountant checks the substance every time, and the advice remains theirs.
Can a UK company train our staff?
Yes. Everything runs by video on Irish time, and EU data protection law recognises the UK as adequate until at least December 2031.
Who you'll work with
James Hayes Consulting is a UK AI consultancy led by Ross Hayes, who builds software for his own businesses and uses AI tools in them every day. We work with overseas businesses by video, set AI up on your real work, and tell you straight if something isn’t worth paying for.
Every project starts with a free 15-minute video call. Prices are in pounds sterling and agreed in writing before you commit; UK VAT isn’t added.
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