Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 6 December 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Children and Youth Affairs

Cybersecurity for Children and Young Adults: Discussion (Resumed)

9:30 am

Ms Niamh Sweeney:

We might split this between us. I will start with the Internet content governance advisory group's report and the more recent proposals from the Law Reform Commission. There is a great deal in the 2014 report that makes a lot of sense, especially around the creation of the multi-stakeholder forum. It was Professor O'Neill who spoke to the research that is being carried out at the European level. That really speaks to the success of the multi-stakeholder forum in addressing many of these issues, particularly because it brings all of the main people into the same room for an ongoing conversation rather than creating a static system that cannot adapt and evolve as the challenge moves on. Certainly, Ms de Bailliencourt is well placed to speak to our involvement in all of the European initiatives that have been spearheaded by the European Commission over the years, especially in the past six or seven years.

With respect to the Law Reform Commission's proposals around the digital safety commissioner, there is much that is positive in that as well. Obviously, we are fully supportive of the proposals around the new criminal offences. I have the report here. There is a huge amount in it around education, which is unusual for the Law Reform Commission. It usually has only one tool in its box, which is to make statutory proposals or not. The Law Reform Commission has very much focused on the creation of an office that would focus on supporting the preparation of publication of material by the Ombudsman for Children, co-ordination of the activities of Departments and other public bodies relating to digital safety, and supporting, encouraging, conducting and evaluating research about digital safety. There is a whole host of other points there. The LRC very much echoes what was contained in the 2014 report that was published by the Internet content governance advisory group.

With respect to the Department of Education and Skills, Webwise would be our main interlocutor there. Obviously, it is the professional development service for teachers under the auspices of the Department of Education and Skills. We would deal with it regularly. We held an event last week and Ms Jane McGarrigle kindly came and spoke at it for us. We co-ordinate most of our activities with it. We are open to invitations to come in and talk to anybody. We would love to be a resource for Departments in that sense. I suppose that would be reflected in our involvement in the mental health task force that was created by the Minister of State, Deputy McEntee, and that recently completed its work under the Minister of State, Deputy Jim Daly. Ms de Bailliencourt sat on the task force for Facebook Ireland.

Those are probably the main points that relate to my area. Did Ms de Bailliencourt want to talk about the Diana award?

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.