Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this legislation. Given that over 80% of teenagers have a social networking profile, the law needs to adapt to protect children from abuse. Over recent years, the Internet has become a significant player in the possible exposure of children to such abuse. There are now many ways to contact children for purposes of grooming. Many children are exposed to inappropriate material such as cyberbullying, adult pornography, websites that promote self-harm, suicide and eating disorders, online hate material and extreme forms of obscene, violent and offensive material. These are not distant threats. They are real and present and need to be addressed. Therefore, I am pleased that this legislation will strengthen existing provisions on online grooming, images of child abuse and child prostitution. It is good to see the criminalising of any communication with a child on the Internet, a mobile phone or social media for sexual exploitation through technology. As UNICEF has made clear, all girls and boys have the right to survive, grow and "be protected from violence, exploitation and abuse" in all settings, including offline and online environments.

On a related note, it is right and proper for the State to ensure its laws are up to standard in this area. There is a challenge for parents, guardians and people in roles of responsibility, including teachers. If we would not let a child or someone under our protection leave the house or school without knowing where the child was going, the same thought should be afforded to online activity. It is true that many children are streets ahead of their parents, or even some teachers, when it comes to modern technology. It provides a challenge. I would like to think that along with proper legislation and enforcement, the State might afford some level of support to people in positions of authority in order that they can best protect children. Members of this House have a duty to legislate according to the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child which protects children from all kinds of discrimination, abuse and neglect, including sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. It mandates this House to protect children from information and material that is injurious to their well-being as well as from arbitrary or unlawful interference with their privacy. These provisions are reflected in the Bill before the House.

Online activity is an area that has provoked warranted calls for the protection of children, particularly with regard to social media. While that should always be the primary consideration, we should be careful not to limit the huge potential that technology offers our young people. Balanced but powerful legislation is required to allow children to enjoy all the benefits of online activity while prohibiting malicious activity and criminalising those who would abuse the natural inquisitiveness of a child’s mind. In my view, this Bill represents such a balance. While I acknowledge the concerns of some people regarding the criminalisation of the purchase of sexual services, I emphasise that this legislation would have prevented what happened in Galway District Court earlier this week when two young women whose circumstances we do not know were convicted and fined for prostitution. Surely this legislation is a better alternative.

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