Joe Neville (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this issue. It is something that impacts us all in many different ways. To some degree, all of us are online. The days of a parent or grandparent not being online are probably over at this stage because everyone has access to a local Facebook group or whatever may be the case. Obviously, it is not just about being online and covering social media. We can see that in our own lives. As public representatives, we often get targeted with comments made online. When there are votes, we often see our faces being plastered around unflatteringly with comments about how we are this or that. Unfortunately, a lot of them come from the far left side. We can see that not only does that feed off the Internet, but it obviously comes onto our streets and we can see our own images being posted around by people from far left groups. Unfortunately, that is just a reality of modern life, but we should not allow it to become normalised. Unfortunately, it has become normalised.

Deputy Coppinger pointed out how this was not necessarily new technology. It has been around for a number of years. Unfortunately, the online world of the last 25 years has never had safety nets in place. We have seen some changes recently with the introduction of Coimisiún na Meán. Coimisiún na Meán has put things in place. I recently saw a brilliant advertisement showing a child walking through a shopping centre with her parents. Everybody in the shop knows exactly what the child has been doing and asks her how training went and how her dancing went. The kid looks at her parents quizzically wondering how the people know everything about her. It is because the parents are putting her images and life online without asking her. That reinforces the message. Even those subtle points can make us think. It is important that we do.

There has been a lot of talk about young people and online safety. I fully agree. In the past, I have referenced the likes of Conor McGregor and Andrew Tate and how their negative influence impacts young people. I think it was Deputy Murphy, or potentially Deputy Coppinger, who alluded to how that impacted young men. That is something we really need to have monitored.

There are severe risks in place, and they need to be focused on and challenged by ourselves.

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