Mr. Ronan Lupton:

The only point I wanted to make is a thread that has run through all contributions this morning. In Ireland, we are in the lucky position where we have the constitutional right to freedom of expression. This has been pointed out in many submissions to the committee. This is codified under Article 40.6.1°.i of the Constitution. As an adjunct to that, there has been case law through the courts that deals with online rights. Those rights have been vindicated by the courts. Some people bristle at the mere concept of that. However, picking up from Dr. Docquir’s point on this supervening European law, the charter, and the convention aspects, we are in a unique position. We should bear that in mind. We are a fairly liberal society. We have this in what is an old Constitution at this stage. It mentions organs of political press and the media and so forth, but also the right of the individual to communicate. We need to be careful, both as legislators and citizens, not to impinge or trample on those rights. This point on how we do things is a common thread, in line with Dr. Docquir and Ms Fitzpatrick. Liability for carriers and platforms is going to be regulated, as I said in my earlier answer to Deputy Mythen. It will be European law. That is where that unpicking may have to occur, if we go slightly too far in our national legislative instrument in Ireland. We need to be aware of what is out there in advance. That is my contribution. I know that I was not asked a direct question by Senator Carrigy but I wanted to make a contribution.