416 cases of students suspected of using AI to cheat at Irish universities

At Munster Technological University (MTU) 274 students have been suspected of academic misconduct across its Cork and Kerry campuses since 2019.

Universities have identified at least 416 suspected cases where students may have used AI to gain an advantage in exams or assessments.

However, gaps remain, as a number of higher education institutions still do not record instances of suspected AI misuse as a standalone figure.

The University of Galway identified 298 cases where AI was suspected to have been used by students to cheat.

It is one of the only universities to collect specific data on cheating with AI, Freedom of Information documents show.

In 2024, the university identified four suspected cases of ‘contract cheating’, which is when a student uses an undeclared or unauthorised third party to assist them to produce work for academic credit.

Since 2024, the university recorded 142 cases where a student was suspected for plagiarising work for their assignments.

Following initial investigations, a further 285 cases of suspected cheating were confirmed by the university. This included 285 cases of AI being used to cheat.

No students were expelled as a result of academic misconduct during official university examinations, the records show.

University College Cork (UCC) first started to formally record unauthorised use of AI in the 2023/24 academic year.

It recorded 38 cases of unauthorised use in the academic year 2023/24, and a further 22 in 2024/25.

No records are available yet for the current academic year, it said.

UCC distinguishes between “academic misconduct” and “exam breaches”, handling each under different policies.

Prior to the 2024/25 academic year, “academic misconduct” was more generally referred to as “plagiarism” at UCC.

Since 2021, the college has recorded 105 exam breaches, generally recorded during invigilated examinations.

Each school at UCC has discretion to deal with suspected cases of plagiarism and other academic misconduct at local level, according to the university.

Since 2020, at least 467 students have been found to have breached academic standards, either through plagiarism or academic misconduct.

However, this data only comes from a handful of schools, as there previously was no requirement for them to report cases centrally with the university.

The marking of final assessments for the 2024/25 academic year is also still ongoing for masters level students, and the final results for some students will not be ratified by an exam board until January 2026.

No UCC students have been expelled because of plagiarism or academic misconduct or an exam breach.

However, 105 cases have proceeded to disciplinary action, with 68 students receiving warnings from the college.

A further 36 students were sanctioned by the college.

At Munster Technological University (MTU) 274 students have been suspected of academic misconduct across its Cork and Kerry campuses since 2019.

Examples of this included the use of unauthorised material during an exam, such as notes or mobile phones, as well as plagiarism.

Records released by Trinity College Dublin show the college does not categorise AI misuse specifically relating to AI when recording cases of academic misconduct.

The university began piloting new academic misconduct procedures in 2023.

Its annual report for that year found the number of reported academic misconduct cases recorded "significantly increased” especially when compared with a decline in previous years.

The report noted how the move to remote learning during the covid-19 pandemic, and the development of AI tools “accentuated the need for the development of policies and practices to robustly address the challenges posed to preserving the academic integrity of assessments”. 

In the academic year 2023/24, 160 instances were recorded, compared to 31 in 2022/23, and 74 in 2021/22.

TCD categorises academic misconduct into four categories. This included 97 cases of poor academic practice or conduct, 48 cases of minor academic misconduct, and 13 cases of major academic misconduct.

“The largest proportion of cases of misconduct continues to be seen in a small number of programmes and is limited to certain programmes in specific faculties,” the report noted. 

There was also a total of 55 cases of examination infringements recorded among undergraduate students in 2023/24.

“The Office of the Junior Dean stated that these minor infringements consisted of possessing a mobile phone or smart device in an exam.” 

In 2024, academic integrity descriptions at the university were also updated to specify that unauthorised use of Generative AI is considered a misconduct.

At the Royal College of Surgeons, 51 students have been suspected of cheating in exams since 2021.

A further 96 cases students have been suspected of plagiarising work for their assignments.

Since 2023, there have been 43 cases where AI was suspected to have been used by students to cheat.

Of these, 36 cases were recorded in 2025 alone.

No RCSI students have been expelled in connection with suspected academic misconduct.

At Maynooth University, 84 students have been suspected of cheating in exams since 2022.

Almost 420 students have been suspected of plagiarising their work at the university between 2021 and 2025.

Of this, 64 cases proceeded to disciplinary action. Although one student was suspended for a “fixed period”, no expulsions were recorded at the university.

At Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, there have been three cases of suspected use of AI to cheat.

There were also 12 instances where AI was suspected to have been used by students to cheat at Technological University of the Shannon (TUS).

“In instances where a lecturer has a suspicion of AI usage, the student is spoken to and asked to resubmit the work.” 

A spokesperson for the Department of Further and Higher Education said academic integrity is a matter for individual higher education institutions with the support of Quality and Qualifications Ireland (QQI).

The National Academic Integrity Network has developed guidelines on academic integrity and generative AI.

The Higher Education Authority is developing a policy framework on Generative AI in higher education, which will soon be published, the spokesperson added.

This will provide guidance to colleges and ensure “learners are supported to study and learn in environments where generative AI is used responsibly”.