Paddy Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate and wish the former Member of this House and Senator, Deputy Bacik, the best of luck on taking her seat in this Dáil Chamber today. She will be a great loss to the Seanad Chamber but will be a very good gain for the Dáil and I wish her well.

I also propose a vote of sympathy for the late Dr. Seán McCarthy from Tipperary, a former Deputy, Senator, Minister and gold medalist in his education when he did his medical exams. I extend my sympathies now to his family.

I raise the issue of social media abuse online. We have seen how the English players who did not score the goals in the penalty shoot-out were subjected to tremendous abuse on social media. I ask the Leader to arrange that this House pass a motion to call on the European Parliament to bring in some sanctions or legislation that would cover the area of faceless people on social media and to provide that a person would have to have a name and to be person in order to have a social media account. This is the only way forward. We as a country and as a Parliament here can do a little but can do something. As a European continent, however, we can do a great deal and have great power. We should bring those social media platforms to book on this because the local media, be it the print media, the national media, or the local or national radio stations would not get away with this. It would be libellous on all counts and I do not see why it should be any different for those social media platforms. I ask the Leader to arrange that we bring forward a cross-party motion in this House calling on the European Parliament to bring in some legislation in this regard. I thank the Cathaoirleach.