Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The purpose of today's meeting is to conclude our series of engagements on the issue of online harassment and harmful communications.

We are joined from the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, ICCL, by its executive director, Mr. Liam Herrick, and its information rights programme manager, Ms Elizabeth Farries; from SpunOut.ieby its chief executive, Mr. Ian Power, and Mr. Jack Eustace, governance and policy officer; from the National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre by UNESCO chairman on bullying and cyberbullying, Professor James O'Higgins Norman, who is joined by a senior research fellow, Dr. Mairéad Foody, and a postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Tijana Milosevic; and, last, and by no means least, from Dublin Rape Crisis Centre by its chief executive, Ms Noeline Blackwell, and its policy officer, Ms Shirley Scott. I thank the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre for taking up the late opportunity to come before the committee. The witnesses are all very welcome. I will call on them to make their opening statements in the order in which I have introduced them. If I get the name of the person leading off on the opening statement wrong, I ask the witnesses to correct me and put me on the right path.

I must ask not only all the witnesses but everybody here to put their mobile phones on silent.

I must draw the witnesses' attention to the usual position on privilege. I ask them to note that they are protected by absolute privilege in respect of the evidence they are to give to the committee. However, if they are directed by the committee to cease giving evidence on a particular matter and they continue to do so, they are entitled thereafter only to a qualified privilege in respect of their evidence. They are directed that only evidence connected with the subject matter of these proceedings is to be given and they are asked to respect the parliamentary practice to the effect that, where possible, they should not criticise or make charges against any person or entity by name or in such a way as to make him, her or it identifiable.

Members of the committee should be aware that, under the salient rulings of the Chair, they should not comment on, criticise or make charges against a person outside the Houses or an official either by name or in such a way as to make him or her identifiable.

For the information of our guests, we have, unfortunately, received a small number of apologies this morning, which impacts the attendance. I very much regret that.

I thank all of them for their respective written submissions, which I expect will be the basis or bones of their opening addresses.

I call Mr. Herrick to kick off.