Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I had not finished. We should do our best. We need to be mindful and cautious at the same time that even doing our best will not be enough to eliminate all exposure to advertising of that or any other nature. There is sufficient evidence from experiences over the past number of years that children are being exposed to promotional material of an alcoholic and non-alcoholic nature that is not beneficial to them or their future well-being. We need to be cautious and recognise there may be more measures we can and should take in these areas to protect children from damage now and in the future. We need to recognise the issues, not only those relating to alcohol, and that we should consider them at the same time because they have an equally detrimental and serious effect on the well-being of children. I agree with the sentiments expressed by Deputy O'Reilly but I caution that we may have to revisit other areas. We have no control over advertising and aspects of social media. Advertising is a broad description. This is an issue in other areas. I would like to know the ministerial view on that. As a former spokesperson on communications, when there was discussion on how the Internet and cyberspace would be governed in terms of good practice, I recognised the need to impose penalties on those who breach the rules in a meaningful way. If we do not do that, we could have a problem down the road. I support the concept but it is a wider issue and needs re-examined in this and different contexts.