Mark Daly (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank everyone for their contributions. It is no surprise to us that not everybody agrees on everything. This is the beauty of democracy. We are here to discuss all the issues. The ones raised regarding harassment on social media are some of the most pressing. Social media has been the tipping point for many people.

The power is being stripped away, and the agency is taking many of the roles councillors have. This experiment in democracy is 126 years of local government and just over 100 years of our national democracy. We are three generations into it, but it is under threat from social media as a platform for people to undermine the democratic institutions of the State and the public representatives who fulfil that most important of functions. We will be taking all of those issues into account and asking the party leaders, the secretaries general of the different parties and groupings and the Independents to consider all of the contributions and draft recommendations in order that we can look forward to ensuring that we strengthen local democracy into the future. I thank all of those present for their contributions.