Seán Haughey (Dublin Bay North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It was important that the European Council recommitted itself to the Paris Agreement on climate change. This will be a key factor in modernising the European economy and will lead to economic growth. In the area of internal security, the meeting condemned recent acts of terrorism in Europe, and that is to be welcomed. The European Union is a force against terrorism, hatred and violent extremism.

The Council called on the online industry, including Internet providers and social media sites, to develop new technology and tools to improve the automatic detection and removal of content that incites to terrorist acts. Where does that go from here? Many of the Internet providers in question and social media sites are based in the Republic of Ireland and the Irish Government should play a very active role in this and should co-operate with our European partners to implement the objective. Will the Minister of State assure me that the Irish Government will play a full role in this regard, given that many of the companies in question are based here?

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