Noel Harrington (Cork South West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome Ms McSweeney and thank her for her presentation. Twitter is a fantastic and widely used resource, whose impact on all spheres of life worldwide is difficult to measure. I estimate that 99.9% of it has been positive, empowering and enriching. The idea that we are even discussing interfering in the freedom to express one's thoughts and ideas does not sit comfortably. Twitter and social media are not the main issue because what one sees online is essentially what one sees off-line. In terms of what is legal and illegal, social media mirror life.

I concur with Ms McSweeney on the issue of anonymity. For hundreds of years, some of our greatest writers used pseudonyms and no one challenged that. We do not need to grapple with how to deal with what is illegal, whether it is data protection violations, harassment, abuse or whatever. These practices are clearly illegal. The issues is how to deal with them after they have been reported. Our biggest problem is access to the judicial system for those against whom a crime has perpetrated, whether online or off-line.

Ms McSweeney stated that where abuse is reported and a violation has been confirmed, a suspension takes place. I presume the account is suspended.