Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

With regard to Ms Crory's concluding comments and the comments of Senator Black on the deplorable abuse of people on social media, if we had adequate legislation that was robust enough I would not care where it came from. We need it internationally. We need it in every jurisdiction. There is the attitude of the social media companies and platforms and their lack of regard in not reacting in good time to take down the vile posts that are put up.

It is always difficult to encourage young people into politics regardless of where we are. It is always difficult to encourage more women into politics. Social media now is making it that much more difficult. Ms Crory mentioned an incident that occurred prior to the previous assembly election with regard to two female candidates. I read about it at the time. How evil those posts were is beyond description. It is a terrible cancer in society. It is deplorable and we all share Ms Crory's view that we need robust and strong legislation and regulations everywhere, which are not only on the Statute Book but are implemented every living hour. They need to be because so much damage is being done.

I sincerely thank Ms Crickard and Ms Crory for their contributions this morning. They have presented a very clear picture on many important issues that need to be addressed and how some of the mechanisms that should be working on behalf of communities, individuals and families are dysfunctional and it is not good enough. We need proper supports for organisations such as Reclaim the Agenda, which provide services to people that should be provided by the State directly but are not. I compliment them on their work and their contributions this morning. They have very much given us all food for thought. I hope in future they will have another opportunity to come before the committee to inform our deliberations. This has been a very informative session.