Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Taoiseach that external influences should be reduced in referendums. Of course, very wealthy people who live externally can skew debates and possibly even buy results. The Standards in Public Office Commission, SIPO, has strict rules in that regard. What is the Government's view on organisations that are flouting the SIPO's rules? Many people in Ireland do not consume traditional media, do not watch television or listen to the radio or do not buy traditional newspapers. I have heard the Taoiseach say he spends more time watching YouTube videos than watching television, or at least before he became Taoiseach and had the time to do so. In the last general election all of the political parties spent money on campaign advertisements because it was considered to be part of the political discourse that we experienced. Would it not have been better for the Government or the Oireachtas to have democratically set the rules in this new media space than for one particular company to decide mid-flow in a referendum campaign to make a decision to intervene to a certain extent in the campaign?