Mr. Cian ? Lion?in:

To come back to the Deputy on the issue of sideline behaviour, as I said in my remarks, it is a reflection of wider society. What happens on the sidelines is not unique. It must be considered as part of the wider societal context. Colleagues in the Department of Justice, for instance, are looking at how we speak to each other and whether abuse becomes so abusive that it is verging on a hate crime. These are areas of policy at which the Department of Justice is looking. I am not sure what the threshold would be in that regard but what happens in sport reflects wider society. The responsibility then from a sports perspective is on the sports national governing bodies, NGB, to deliver training and coaching to their units and organisations on the standards expected. Some are better than others in that regard.

On the issue of the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022, I know a number of further sessions are scheduled on Committee Stage. A critical part there will be trying to have meaningful regulation of online platforms which are, unfortunately, where an awful lot of sport and wider societal abuse is now delivered. I am not an expert in these areas; colleagues are leading on it. However, we see that as a critical measure to try to get a handle on and turn back the tide of bile that can be directed at sportspeople and others online.