Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy Leader may have seen the documentary "Jackie & Coco" on RTÉ last night but she will be very familiar with the very moving story. It was a beautifully put together documentary by the filmmaker Ger Walsh and Atom Films for RTÉ. This is the sixth anniversary of Nicole Fox's death. She died, as people know, as a result primarily of online bullying. Her mother describes herself as very much an ordinary person - she never anticipated what she had to do - but she is an extraordinary woman. She fought to ensure we had what has become Coco's Law. As politicians, we meet many people, but what a towering bundle of energy Jackie is. She is certainly hurting because she knows she will never be able to get her daughter back. I pay tribute to Brendan Howlin, my Wexford colleague, who took this initiative early on. It got cross-party support and Helen McEntee, as Minister, was determined that it would come through. The online space, however, is still not a safe space and, unfortunately, we know that there continue to be dangers out there and a lot of online harms. I think our message today is that we should encourage as many people as possible to watch that documentary and for that story to be shared in schools around the country. We should also say that our first duty as legislators is the safety of our citizens and people living here. That is as crucial in the online space as it is in the real world. Also, the message we need to send out to Jackie Fox is that she has made a real difference and continues to make a difference.