Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)

I thank the Deputy for raising this issue. I had the pleasure of meeting Councillor Nealon from Sligo yesterday and discussed this with him. I also met yesterday pupils from a school in Claremorris in the Deputy's constituency who were in the Dáil. When I bumped into them and asked if they had any questions, the first question they asked was what I would do about this idea of the social media ban. It was interesting to note the amount of them in favour of it. These were sixth-class students in Claremorris National School. It gave me a real insight into the pressure young people are feeling.

The Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, has an online health task force in her Department to look at the health and well-being impacts of online and social media on young people. She met the chair of the task force this week and its interim report is due shortly. The Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, has asked his officials to examine international initiatives under way or being considered elsewhere to protect the safety of children.

My position is really clear on this. We live in a country where the digital age of consent is 16. Therefore, I do not believe we should be on social media in advance of that age. I heard the comments of President Macron in a similar vein this week. I have an open mind on how to enact these things. We have age verification structures that clearly do not work and industry would acknowledge that. We need to get serious about this. It is a ticking time bomb that is having a really detrimental impact on the health and well-being of our young people and often on their safety as well. The digital age of consent is 16 and I believe that should be applied in a very real way. The Government is considering how best to examine it.

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