Cormac Devlin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak to online safety, an important and pressing issue, and I thank the Minister for being here. For most of us in the House, the Internet arrived in adulthood. For today's children, it has been there since before they could even read or write. That brings extraordinary opportunities for learning, creativity and connection but also very real risks.

We have made important progress in recent years. The establishment of Coimisiún na Meán and the online safety code has ended the era of pure self-regulation for the largest platforms. Those codes now require age assurance, parental controls and real reporting tools, backed up by fines of up to 10% of turnover and, where necessary, criminal sanctions. The EU's Digital Services Act adds another layer of protection, especially around illegal content, the recommender systems and the protection of children online but regulation on its own is not enough.

We have heard directly from young people spending hours online every day, often with smart phones or, indeed, smart TVs in their bedrooms, and from parents who feel outpaced by technology and worried about harmful content, bullying and disinformation. They need support, not just new laws. In my view, the central challenge is balance. We must uphold freedom of expression and embrace technological innovation while being absolutely clear that children must not be collateral damage in this digital age.

The major platforms are now an integral part of Irish society and, indeed, our economy.

They are welcome and valued here and we want to work with them in the spirit of partnership. However, as with many other industries, when laws, regulations and codes are ignored, there must be consequences. Striking that balance between openness and safety, innovation and responsibility is how we ensure our young people can enjoy the best of the online world without being exposed to the worst of it.

See this speech in context