Dr. Karen McAuley:

We are familiar with and welcomed the report on cybersecurity the committee published some time ago. We have noticed and appreciate that the whole question of online safety, not least in respect of children, although it does not exclusively concern them, is a matter of concern to many people, including at our office. The issue is being addressed in different ways by various Oireachtas committees because it has multiple strands. Co-ordination is very important. We made a submission to the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment as part of its public consultation, which, as members will know, focused on the question of establishing an online safety commissioner, among other matters. It also examined the roles such a commissioner might have.

Our submission noted that several roles were being contemplated. They related to certification, oversight, audit, issue of notices, imposition of fines, reporting, appeals and mediation.

A plethora of things are being considered in terms of what an online safety commissioner would do. One thing we can encourage the Department to do when it works on the legislation to establish an online safety commissioner, whatever it is called, on a statutory footing, is to really look at whether the proposed statutory functions will complement each other and whether they will complement the work that the commissioner would do vis-à-vis other bodies, for example, the role of the commissioner vis-à-vis the Department of Education and Skills or the role of the commissioner vis-à-vis the Department of Justice and Equality and the agencies under its aegis in terms of the criminal law element of this. It is very important that the legislation, once published, provides clarity. It is likely to be the case that the commissioner cannot do everything, nor would it be appropriate, but it is about identifying its appropriate role. We would expect a regulatory mechanism as opposed to a judicial mechanism or one of law enforcement. The appropriate roles must be identified and we must ensure that they complement each other.

We understand that the Department is working on an online safety and media regulation Bill. We hope to hear more about this early in the new year, and when it is published, we will examine it carefully to see, among other things, that the envisaged roles are appropriate for a regulatory body that which is established on a statutory footing.