James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Bill and I commend the Labour Party on tabling it. We will support this excellent measure. I tabled legislation in a similar vein, albeit taking a different angle, prior to Christmas and I acknowledge the Labour Party's support for that. There was support from most sides of the House, although not from the Government. When the issue was debated by the LRC, I made a submission in 2015, which fed into the wider report. Important and much needed recommendations flowed from that. We are all aware of recent cases and the abhorrent and shocking tales that have been related. One of the issues that emerged was the need for a digital safety commissioner, which we all agree is long needed. Unfortunately, the Government appears to be at sea on the issue. I welcome the Minister's indication of the Government's support for the Bill to proceed. However, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment indicated he was in favour of a digital safety commissioner before Christmas, yet the Taoiseach dismissed that during the Christmas recess and then the Minister said the proposal was back on the table last week. I am not sure where it sits now. The Government also rejected my Bill, although it was voted through on Second Stage by the House.

The Minister in his contribution referred to territoriality. Section 9 of the criminal justice (amendment) Bill 2018 may address the concerns he raised. As happened when Deputy Howlin appeared on radio earlier, the same questions are coming up about enforceability of regulations and how we can police these issues, but we can do this. The regulation of online gambling demonstrates that there are many ways to police activities that may not be rooted physically in the jurisdiction. It is important that, as a legislative assembly, we make a statement on whether certain behaviours are acceptable and do so in such a way that it can be codified into law with the enforcement following later.

I watched "The Late Late Show" last Friday evening during which a number of parents and children in the audience talked about the shocking events that had unfolded in their lives and the reaction to them. The Internet is a fantastic tool for education and it is at our children's fingertips. It is a great resource which has transformed education, but it brings dangers. I will close with the words of a child who spoke on "The Late Late Show". She said that even with all the activity going on and all the scare stories, "Don't ban the children, ban the bad people." That makes a lot of sense.

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