James Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputies for their contribution and support for our participation in this new instrument. To respond to Deputy Tully, it is the case, as she said, that new technologies are vital to the detection and investigation of child sexual abuse. An Garda Síochána favours employing specialist software, including software that enables victims to be identified through facial recognition, and this supports the importance of enacting the facial recognition technology legislation as a priority.

I thank Deputy Howlin for his support for the legislation and take his point about bringing this type of motion before the House in a timely fashion, recognising what he said about the need for a period of four working days. It should be done within that time and it is important for us all to be remain vigilant of our rights as Deputies within this Parliament. I certainly take the Deputy's point and will raise it internally, but we should all be vigilant of this. Moreover, I welcome his support over the course of his career in the Dáil. He has a strong legacy in this area, which I absolutely acknowledge.

To respond to Deputy Murphy, a significant proportion of the reports received will, following examination, not be actionable but she is correct to say the increasing number of reports increases the demands on An Garda Síochána, and we will have to be more cognisant of increasing funding and resources. We have provided record funding to An Garda Síochána but, as it becomes more specialised and as criminals become more specialised, we have to continue to increase that funding.

Deputy Murphy also mentioned the privacy concerns that have been expressed in the context of the EU sexual abuse regulation. Ireland strongly supports that regulation, whose provisions include the establishment of an EU centre that will receive and verify reports of CSEM, ensuring no false positives are referred to An Garda Síochána. All organisations must do their best to ensure the potential for any such case will be minimised, because I have no doubt it is absolutely devastating when a false case such as that arises.

Just this week, Edinburgh University published a global study setting out the scale of online child sexual abuse. It reveals that more than 12% of the world's children have been victims of non-consensual talking, sharing or exposure to sexual images or video in the past year. A similar percentage are estimated to have been subject to some form of online solicitation, such as sextortion. This is the phenomenon whereby children, usually teenage boys, are deceived into sharing intimate images and then threatened or blackmailed into providing additional sexual content, sexual activity or money. According to the US National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, incidences of this type of crime have increased dramatically in recent years, including a 7,200% increase in 2022 alone. Unfortunately, these global trends are also reflected in Ireland. The US national centre receives reports of online child sexual exploitation and abuse from US-owned companies and forwards them to law enforcement agencies throughout the world. In 2023, as Deputy Murphy pointed out, it referred more than 10,000 such reports to An Garda Síochána in respect of material relating to Ireland, and this represented a 17% increase on the number of referrals in 2022. Similarly, hotline.ie, the national reporting body for illegal online content, has seen year-on-year increases in the number of reports it receives, more than 90% of which relate to suspected CSEM.

All of this serves to demonstrate the need to continue to act against child sexual abuse and in support of its victims, including through participation in this new EU measure. Ireland ratified the Council of Europe’s Convention on the Protection of Children Against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse, also known as the Lanzarote Convention, in 2021 and we have been an active participant in the work carried out under that convention. Ireland has commenced the roll-out of the Barnahus model, achieving better outcomes for children who have been abused by bringing essential services under one roof and offering them co-ordinated supports. Ireland will seek to play an active part in the negotiations on this new directive, and I have mentioned the importance of ensuring people who pay for the livestreaming of child sexual abuse should be punished in a way that reflects their role as a participant in this abuse, rather than as a spectator.

It is important we continue to play a full part in European discussions on these matters and to participate to the fullest extent possible in measures proposed by the European Commission in the justice and home affairs area. The Office of the Attorney General has confirmed there are no legal or constitutional impediments to our participation in this measure, and I hope I have outlined some of the reasons it is important we do so. I commend the motion to the House.

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