Professor Louise Crowley:

I will be brief given the time left. A helpline needs to work side by side with a body that has a capacity to do something about what is reported via that helpline. A helpline cannot just be about listening and supporting, it must also have the teeth required to do something about what is reported. Regarding how far the Oireachtas can go, as someone who works in the area of seeking to address all forms of sexual harassment and violence, I believe the Oireachtas should go as far as it needs to go in this regard. All forms of harassment and abuse, especially sexual harassment and abuse, constitute a huge societal challenge. Ultimately, the key role and responsibility of the Oireachtas is to identify the issues and to govern and regulate in a way that supports and respects all our people.

If a platform has the capacity to ignore a situation such as that experienced by Ms O'Sullivan and many similar situations experienced daily by other women and men - and we have knowledge and evidence of these experiences - then the obligation on our lawmakers is to take action to prevent this happening and to make these platforms accountable for they are doing. It is not enough to allow them to just create their own rules with their commercial interests in mind. Those companies have a social responsibility, but it is the responsibility of lawmakers to create a framework that will require those companies to comply with their responsibilities in this regard. Therefore, I urge the members of this important committee to take all the steps they feasibly can, based on the constitutional right to privacy for all our people, to ensure that rights are respected and that our laws allow that outcome to be achieved.