Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The meeting today has been convened with representatives from Hope and Courage Collective, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, Media Literacy Ireland and DCU's Institute of Future Media, Democracy and Society to discuss the State's response to online disinformation and media and digital literacy, including social media and fake news. This meeting continues the committee's engagement on related matters. Regrettably, we will not have representatives from the NUJ with us. They are unable to attend but have been very good and regular attenders and have made a written submission for the committee's hearing today. We thank them for that.

I warmly welcome the following witnesses to committee room 1. From Hope and Courage Collective I welcome Ms Edel McGinley, executive director, and Ms Niamh McDonald, director of advocacy and community engagement. From the Institute for Strategic Dialogue I welcome senior analysts Mr. Ciarán O'Connor and Ms Aoife Gallagher. I welcome Ms Martina Chapman, national co-ordinator of Media Literacy Ireland. Finally, from DCU's Institute for Future Media, Democracy and Society I welcome Dr. Shane Murphy, who is a postdoctoral researcher.

The format of today's meeting is such that I will invite our witnesses to deliver their opening statements, which are limited to three minutes each. This will be followed by questions from my colleagues. As the witnesses are probably aware, the committee will publish the opening statements on its website. Are we all agreed on that?