Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the acknowledgement of the seriousness of what I said. I welcome the fact the Minister of State and the Department acknowledge that catfishing is wrong. I also recognise that the Minister of State said it is not illegal. I was in these Houses when we passed Coco's Law, but Coco's Law does not stop this from happening. The various legislative instruments to which the Minister of State referred do not stop this from happening. At the end of the day, this is illegal. I welcome the fact he acknowledged that it can cause significant emotional distress, financial loss and, in some cases, reputational harm. These are all serious issues. The Minister of State is right to say this is an opportunity for us to reflect on this issue, but let us stop reflecting and actually do something. Let us pass laws that make this illegal.

The Minister of State referred to emotional damage and distress and financial loss. Arguably, financial loss is covered by provisions within the theft and fraud offences Act. I am less worried about that, but the emotional distress that is totally unaddressed by the law at present cannot be allowed to go unanswered. The reputational damage the Minister of State mentioned also cannot be allowed to go unanswered. There are arguably defamatory aspects to it, but let us put legislation in place that specifically states catfishing is not allowed. Let us define what it is in legislation and let us acknowledge the damage it does both to the people directly affected by it through being duped online and those whose images are falsely used to catfish. Let us acknowledge that harm. Let us stop reflecting and let us say this is illegal and, when somebody does this, there will be serious consequences for that person in our courts, including prison time and substantial fines. Perhaps most importantly, there will be a mechanism to stop it. At the moment, if I go to Twitter, Instagram, any of the online platforms or any of the Internet providers, I cannot get them to stop somebody using my image. Let us be honest, nobody wants to use my image, but we cannot stop images from being used illegally because we have not passed the requisite law. Let us pass a Bill. Let us make this illegal.

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