Paula Butterly (Louth, Fine Gael)

I acknowledge where the witnesses spoke about the empowerment of young people and how they can protect themselves online. I was following the meeting online so I know it is a theme that has been brought up already. It is very important to note that when there are television series such as "Adolescence", there was not a parent who watched it that did not feel the hairs rise on their arms. We are living in a society where, as parents, we think we are doing pretty okay with our children and we are not fully prepared for the threats and the onslaught our children are being exposed to. When I talk about threats and onslaught, I am not necessarily talking about threats against children but the absolute onslaught of information that is coming at them. I noticed my own son just scrolls like an automaton, which I do myself because I am obsessed with news and information and I find myself checking the news under the guise of working, every morning while I have my coffee, and then I go to reprimand my son. I am very concerned about it because it seems we are not prepared as parents. We are not equipped as parents to deal with this situation until it is too late. Any sort of protection or remedy we can put in place that protects our children, whether that is excluding them from platforms, increasing a digital footprint that ensures their identity is either hidden or that they cannot access it, is absolutely vital.