Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I was not going to bring this up today but I will do so because we are in the year of elections. Today we have announced the wordings for the referendums to take place on 8 March. Particularly in light of the last Leaders' Questions, when someone was accused of being disingenuous, I would like to speak about falsehoods. People want to know what stance our political and party leaders are taking on the individual and community-based fake profiles on our social media platforms. The number of fake profiles now evolving, as individuals and as community-based profiles, is actually staggering. The policy is what we are asking for. What is Fianna Fáil's policy on potential candidates or already elected Fianna Fáil representatives who are using fake profiles - individual profiles, community-based profiles, or both - to promote their electability? In many instances that have been reported, this is being done at the expense of what are now criminal acts under Coco's law, and represents defamation in civil law. Does the Tánaiste, as leader of Fianna Fáil, condone candidates who hide behind fake profiles? That is what people are asking. Does he agree that a core issue for any elected representative must be honesty and transparency? What sanctions would the Tánaiste deem fit to apply to any elected representative or potential candidate who is found to use fake profiles? What would the sanction from his party be if he was to become aware, or if he is aware, of Fianna Fáil candidates who hide behind individual or community-based profiles?

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