Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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2. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps she is taking to address the dangers of the Neknomination Internet craze in view of the recent tragic consequences; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6694/14]

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I seek to engage with the Minister on the recently highlighted very serious and tragic deaths of young people connected to the social media and Internet craze of Neknomination.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I express my sincere sympathy to the families of all those who have been involved and the tragic outcome there has been for some families. The underlying problem we have to deal with is attitudes to alcohol. The Government is very concerned generally about the level of alcohol consumption among young people, but specifically about the recent tragic deaths involving young people participating in the Neknomination trend. Clearly this is a social media craze that started out in what was thought was an innocent way but has turned out to have lethal consequences. Peer pressure is a significant issue.

I was very impressed with the Union of Students in Ireland which initiated a proactive approach to informing, educating and interrupting this craze by the actions it took. Scouting Ireland and others got proactively involved in interrupting it and replacing it with something positive.

Much of the interaction is between adults rather than children. However, there can be lethal consequences. Clearly, the dangerous drink misuse in those circumstances has had very serious consequences. It does reflect on our cultural attitude to alcohol. The important point is that we must focus on information and education. There is a strong role for Government. That is why we have taken the issue of public health and attitudes to alcohol extremely seriously. The Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Alex White, is working on a public health (alcohol) Bill. Last October, the Irish Government approved an extensive package of measures to deal with alcohol misuse, including the drafting of the public health (alcohol) Bill. Those measures were agreed on foot of the recommendations in the steering group report on a national substance misuse strategy. The recommendations in the strategy are grouped under the five pillars of supply reduction, prevention, treatment, rehabilitation and research. We want to reduce alcohol consumption to the OECD average by 2020.

Additional information not given on the floor of the House

The package of measures to be implemented will include provision for: minimum unit pricing for alcohol products; the regulation of advertising and marketing of alcohol; structural separation of alcohol from other products in mixed trading outlets; health labelling of alcohol products; and regulation of sports sponsorship. The general scheme of the Bill was approved in October. Work on developing a framework for the necessary Department of Health legislation is continuing.

I am conscious that the Neknomination trend has manifested itself through social media and, as a result, been disseminated much more widely and extensively. Contact has been made by my staff with the head of policy in Facebook to express my concern and that of the public with this trend. Facebook has said it addresses reported concerns regarding content on a case-by-case basis. I hope that these contacts and the reporting of such concerns will lead to a reflection among social media providers on the role they can play in limiting the dangers of these trends for the general public, and in particular children and young people.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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We must be sensitive to the families of those young men who have lost their lives in what are tragic circumstances linked to Neknomination dares or challenges, whatever one may call them. I join with the Minister in expressing my deepest sympathy to the families and friends of those who have lost their lives. I do not wish to contribute to any hysteria surrounding this Internet craze or the use of social media. However, we must recognise what is happening. We must acknowledge that it is real and that this Internet craze is tapping into the culture and vulnerability of young people in particular. That is not to suggest that this applies uniquely to young people, as it does not.

A dangerous mixture of youthful exuberance, peer pressure and excessive alcohol have all too often contributed to the premature loss of young lives in this country, but this social media platform has presented a new dimension to this threat and that has been contributed to further by the advent of Neknomination. I am anxious to know what measures the Minister is taking to try to address this unhealthy development and what discussions she has had, if any, with her colleague the Minister for Health, or other Cabinet colleagues on this matter.

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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This issue will primarily be impacted by young people's understanding, information and education and the potentially serious consequences of being involved.

I have been in touch with Facebook and have had discussions in the past with Google and other Internet service providers, including UPC, which I met the week before last. I discussed applications that can be made available to parents to support them. The questions of educating and providing information to parents and parental supervision of the online activities of children are very important. However, the circumstances we are discussing today also relate to adults. The Government's alcohol strategy, the discussions I have been having about cyberbullying and the national anti-bullying strategy are key elements in dealing with this issue.

A combination of information and education, as well as relying on the voluntary organisations, is important. The Internet service providers also have role to play and I have been impressed, having met them, by the safety initiatives they are taking, especially for those who are under 18. In terms of blaming social media for our ills, I do not believe censorship is the answer. Having said that, if there is any question of abusive or bullying videos being posted online, the providers have an absolute obligation to take them down and they have said that, in those circumstances, they will.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the last point in particular and that the Minister has been dealing with the matter. The issue of our relationship with alcohol is a very serious one which has implications for all facets of life, but particularly for young people in terms of their mental and general health and well-being, personal development, relationships and their employment and career prospects.

It is often suggested that people in general, but young people in particular, assume so-called online identities whereby normally shy young people become extroverts online, lose their inhibitions and in some cases take on a different persona entirely. Has there been any assessment of the impact of Internet use on the mental and physical health of young people? Are there ways to ensure the online experience is not a damaging one, or worse, a deadly one?

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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We know that Internet usage by young Irish people is quite high. The Internet offers huge opportunities for young people and for everyone else and we do not want to over-emphasise the dangers. We also want to emphasise the opportunities it affords. Information is emerging on the scale of online bullying and general research is suggesting that young people need - as with learning to drive a car- to have information, education and support in using the Internet. Increasingly we are finding that young people are posting information to the web which is then shared widely and which becomes problematic at a later stage. They need to realise that everything that goes online is effectively publicly available. Last year I met representatives from Scotland Yard regarding some very disturbing trends whereby material that young people are posting to the Internet is being used by people involved in trafficking and other illegal activities. We need to inform and educate young people so that they can make the very best use of what can be a wonderful resource. They need to be very aware, as do their parents, of the potential downsides.