Ms Sinéad McSweeney:

Deputy Ann Phelan asked about our take-down policy. We have clear rules as to what is and is not permitted on the platform. There are limitations to the content that can be published. The publication of content which breaches our rules, including specific, direct threats of violence, abusive behaviour, posting somebody's private information and impersonation, leads to suspension. We have also developed a technology which allows us to block content in countries where the content may be illegal in that country but not elsewhere. So, for example, in Germany, certain types of Nazi speech is illegal. It might only be considered offensive elsewhere but because it is illegal in Germany it is blocked in Germany if reported to us and the user sees a greyed-out box. Therefore, the content is not just blocked but people know and understand why it is blocked. That is an important part of educating people about what is acceptable, unacceptable, legal and illegal.

In terms of the press council idea, I am not sure how something like that might work. Again, I would direct people to the resources that are already there, that all social media companies have actually put in place. I was struck by the debate both yesterday and this morning in terms of the work we must do to highlight some of the incredible resources that we have put time, energy and experience into developing. We definitely need to do some work on that.

Deputy O'Mahony asked about the extent to which we have found ourselves modifying our policies and procedures. We constantly modify them and look for feedback on them. We work with other organisations in the space and seek feedback from parent's groups, teachers, various safer internet centres around the world and modify our procedures accordingly. I spoke earlier about having more transparency around the way in which we deal with reports, for example. Members also asked about the timeline on reports. The reality is that it varies widely. If we get a report about an impersonation, for example, we must be very sure that the report is coming from the appropriate person and is not an effort by somebody else to take on that person's identity. In reply to the question, the response time depends on the nature of the report or complaint because there are certain verification steps which we need to go through.

Members spoke about bullying and the extent to which it may be silent online. There is an alternative view that in some ways, it should actually be more visible. It should actually be easier for young people to prove or illustrate to others that they are being bullied because they can capture it. It is there, online, for others to see. What we need to do - and this is something we are working on - is empower young people to break their silence and talk about what is happening to them. In some ways, the bullying should be far more visible and detectable but we must empower people and give them the skills to reach out when they have a problem. That leads me in to Deputy O'Donovan's question about corporate responsibility. We actually have a programme called Tweets for Good. On the recent Safer Internet Day, we facilitated safer internet messaging throughout the day on the platform, as if it was an advertisement on the platform. It was given a particular prominence and targeted at those who needed it most. We work with charities and voluntary organisations to enable them to use the platform in an effective way. We also work in a more informal way on these issues. Some of the more skilled marketing people on the team and myself have met with some of the mental health awareness organisations and young people's organisations in Ireland to talk about how they use Twitter and how they can use it even more effectively to communicate their message. We are doing quite a lot of work in that area.

Deputy O'Donovan also made reference to the need for a dedicated liaison officer for schools and parents.