Dáil debates

Thursday, 14 June 2018

Cyber Security for Children and Young Adults: Motion

 

5:10 pm

Photo of Kate O'ConnellKate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I move:

That Dáil Éireann shall consider the Report of the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs entitled, Report on Cyber Security for Children and Young Adults, copies of which were laid before Dáil Éireann on 28th March 2018.

The report on cyber security for children and young adults produced by the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs is important in tackling an issue which is becoming ever more challenging for younger generations and increasingly worrisome for parents and guardians. On behalf of the Chairman, my colleague, Deputy Alan Farrell, I thank the members of the committee for the work they put into producing the report and their careful consideration throughout the extensive hearings on the matter. I also thank every delegate who provided testimony for the committee and each individual and organisation that made a submission on the topic of cyber safety for children and young people. It is important that the Government act on the recommendations made by the committee. They will protect young people, while also acknowledging the benefits of the Internet and social media, particularly in the context of education and communicating with family and friends.

Reviewing the work of the committee on the topic, the contributions which really stood out were those of students from Newbridge College and representatives from Comhairle na nÓg in counties Clare and Wicklow. That the committee used the opportunity to hear first-hand the concerns and experiences of young people was positive. Of the challenges faced by young people, sexting, over-sharing online, cyberbullying and the danger of connecting with strangers online are of particular concern.

6 o’clock

As a society, we cannot put our heads in the sand and pretend these things are not happening. As legislators we have a responsibility to lead by example, to acknowledge the reality our young people are facing online, to have an open and frank discussion about it and to work to ensure children and teenagers are fully aware of the dangers they may be exposed to and the supports available to them in this regard. One student from Newbridge College discussed the sharing of intimate images online in her contribution. She stated:

It is very much a taboo subject, which people shy away from discussing, but it must be addressed. Many of the teenagers engaging in these activities are not informed of the dangers or the legalities relating to the sharing of intimate images.

This student went on to say:

I believe this issue is getting out of control and becoming a popular trend due to the lack of education and information provided to young people. We can help prevent and tackle this by raising awareness and being taught the dangers of sexting in school as part of the social, personal and health education, SPHE, curriculum or the relationships and sexuality education, RSE, module.

This one contribution highlights the importance with which teenagers view the need the act on social media dangers. It shows a level of understanding and awareness that may be somewhat lacking in those in our society who may be less au faitwith social media and with new messaging apps, which are being used by children, teenagers and young people today. It also shows the need to make sure every individual is aware of the right to be forgotten, which is referenced in the report before the House. In tackling the concerns of our young people, we must first remove the taboo with which matters such as sexting are often treated and ensure social media companies strengthen their safety policies to protect their users, especially when they are minors. It is for this reason the report of the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs on cybersafety is so timely and important and must be acted upon by Government.

We cannot deny that our young people are, in many ways, leading when it comes to addressing concerns in the area of cybersafety. At the same hearing of the committee, a representative of Clare Comhairle na nÓg outlined the action it had taken in terms of being proactive and working to provide its members' peers with the knowledge and education they deserve. This young person outlined the work of Clare Comhairle na nÓg saying:

Changes in technology, in particular the availability of broadband and cheaper smartphones with data bundles, have changed the cyber landscape in recent years. In response to young people looking for some direction and education in this rapidly changing environment, we made links with McAfee which had developed a cybersafety programme as part of its corporate social responsibility, CSR, project. The programme was piloted with 49 young people at the 2015 comhairle AGM and the results were fed back to McAfee. Clare youth service decided to deliver this programme with funding from the Clare local development company, and during 2016 and 2017, 752 young people, mainly first years, took part in the programme in schools across Clare. McAfee has adapted the programme according to the feedback from the young people involved.

With regard to the committee’s report itself, broadly speaking, the recommendations encompass a number of policy areas and have the potential to be particularly effective, not only in addressing the challenges posed by social media and the online world, but also in educating and encouraging our society in general regarding the responsible use of the internet.

Focusing on the area of education, with recommendations that include peer-to-peer workshops in schools, the inclusion of cybersafety programmes in the curriculum and in teacher training courses and the appointment of teachers as digital safety ambassadors, this report provides a guideline on how we can best build upon and complement existing initiatives in a number of our schools. The initiative to involve young people in the delivery of education and awareness evenings for parents and guardians on this topic would also be worthwhile. Gone are the days when adults could impose their views or impose restrictions on young people. Instead we must fully include children, teenagers and young adults in all measures to ensure they are safe online. I commend the committee on taking on board the importance of utilising such an approach.

As pointed out in the committee report, the implementation of the remaining recommendations as set out in the report of the Internet content governance advisory group of 2014, the establishment of the office of a digital safety commissioner and the introduction of a national strategy on children’s cybersafety must be prioritised by Government. The establishment of an advisory task force on the protection of children and young people online must also be progressed by Government. I note that the recommendation on the digital age of consent has been addressed within the Data Protection Act 2018. However, we await the legislative changes recommended in the report in line with the Law Reform Commission’s report on harmful communication and digital safety; particularly that section 10 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997 should be repealed and replaced with a new offence of harassment.

A new provision of harassment must, in this context, expressly apply to harassment through all forms of communication including digital and online communications. It is an unfortunate reality, as I am sure many members of this House will agree, that the majority of harassment now takes place online. While we, as Members of the House, have become used to such harassment at times, the fact remains that people not in the public sphere, and young people in particular, may not be as prepared to deal with such harassment or abuse as we may be. Therefore, the laws of this State must reflect this reality, and as such, this legislative change must be made.

Separate to this offence, and also in line with the Law Reform Commission’s recommendations, a specific stalking offence should be introduced. Furthermore, section 1 of the Post Office (Amendment) Act 1951 must be repealed and replaced with provisions making the distribution of threatening, false, indecent or obscene messages an offence, whether they are to a person or about a person. In addition, the distribution of intimate images without the consent of the person depicted in such images must be made an offence. This also is a recommendation of the Law Reform Commission’s report. The fact that the Law Reform Commission made these recommendations and that the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs has now highlighted the importance of these legislative changes must act as a catalyst for the Government to take action urgently.

As legislators, we have a responsibility to ensure every individual in this State, and particularly some of the more vulnerable members of our society, including our children and young adults, receive the levels of legal protection they need. Unfortunately, at this time, we cannot say we have adequately done this with regard to cybersafety. Our society is becoming increasingly dependent on technology in every aspect whether it is in education, in work, or in communicating with one another generally. Our laws must now catch up. Failure to adequately implement the recommendations of the committee’s report on cybersafety for children and young people would be to fail our children, our young people and our society in general in terms of providing every citizen with the levels of online security and protection they require.

Again, I wish to thank all of the members of the committee and those who provided testimony and submission to the committee for their work and consideration of this topic. I commend this report to the House and look forward to the detailed scrutiny of this report by Cabinet given the multidepartmental scope of the recommendations.

5:20 pm

Photo of Katherine ZapponeKatherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I very much welcome the opportunity to speak to the House today on the important subject of cybersafety. At the outset, I welcome the excellent work done by the joint committee in preparing its report on cybersafety. It was timely when it was done and it is timely now. I appreciate and was aware of the great commitment, dynamism and passion of members of the committee and the ways in which it worked together and with other groups and those whom it brought in to speak and to provide evidence, especially the young people.

I know that members invested significant time and effort in studying this topic and in developing a series of recommended actions. I am aware that the committee took into account the recommendations of the Internet Content Governance Advisory Group in producing its report. Reference was made a couple of times to the Law Reform Commission.

The issue of safety for children engaging in online activity presents a very serious challenge. Protecting children from online abuse, bullying, grooming and sites with harmful content requires a whole-of-Government approach. Given the cross-departmental nature of this issue, the Department of the Taoiseach is currently developing an action plan on online safety involving all relevant Departments. The Taoiseach, in addressing the open policy debate on online safety, held in March, committed to the preparation of such a plan by the end of June. It will set out an integrated set of measures to ensure we support online safety at all levels. That was taking up part of the character of the committee's report in terms of encouraging a sense of urgency in regard to the Government.

Preparation of the action plan is well advanced, with six Departments, all with responsibilities in this area, working on a collaborative basis to ensure a robust, whole-of-Government approach to the issue of online safety. The objective is to ensure our collective actions are co-ordinated, complementary and robust. The work of the committee will help to shape the Government's approach to dealing with this issue. Deputies will appreciate that I do not have lead ministerial policy responsibility in this area and in the circumstances I do not propose to respond directly to the recommendations in the report. I do, however, have significant responsibilities and an important contribution to make in ensuring that the Internet is a safer place for children. In this context, Deputies will be aware that the Children First Act 2015 places a number of statutory obligations on organisations providing relevant services to children. These obligations include a requirement to keep children safe from harm while they are availing of services, a requirement to carry out a risk assessment and a requirement to prepare a child safeguarding statement that sets out the policies and procedures in place to mitigate these risks.

If a relevant service is allowing children access to the Internet where they could become exposed to harm, including harm of assault or sexual abuse, as set out in section 2 of the Act, there is an obligation on the service provider to ensure the risk is identified and that the policies and procedures that are in place to manage the risk are set out in the child safeguarding statement. Chapter 4 of the Children First guidance provides guidance for relevant service providers on preparing risk assessments and child safeguarding statements. It defines a risk assessment as an exercise where an organisation examines all aspects of its service from a safeguarding perspective to establish whether there are any practices or features of the services that have the potential to put children at risk.

While this includes the risk of harm as a result of access to the Internet, this is not currently explicitly stated in the guidance. In order to clarify the issue, my Department will be amending the Children First guidance to include a specific reference to the need to consider online safety when conducting risk assessments and preparing child safeguarding statements. In addition, we will be consulting Tusla to ensure that the template for the completion of the child safeguarding statement also includes a specific reference to the need to consider online safety. It is my responsibility to ensure that the voices of children and young people are heard and acted upon when we make decisions on Internet safety.

My Department undertakes and supports a wide range of consultation and participation processes with children and young people. These include the development of structures to enable such participation in decision-making by children and young people. Such structures include both Dáil na nÓg and Comhairle na nÓg. The joint Oireachtas committee met groups of young people from Comhairle na nÓg from counties Clare and Wicklow as part of its work. Deputy Kate O'Connell, on behalf of Deputy Farrell, has already referred to the committee's work. I was pleased and heartened to see colleagues take the time to listen to what young people have to say. It is through such engagement that we can learn and find solutions that work. I met some members after the meeting and realise how engaging and meaningful it was for them. They were extraordinarily receptive to the young people.

Consultation work undertaken by Wicklow Comhairle na nÓg resulted in a charter on cyberbullying, as referred to by Deputy Kate O'Connell. This charter makes requests of us all. It asks that we have a plan for dealing with cyberbullying and that we protect young people, their rights and their well-being. The charter also speaks to bullies, to those being bullied, to bystanders and to all young people. While this initiative is local to County Wicklow, the message coming from young people has much wider application. The learning is that technology, per se, is not the problem; rather, people's behaviour is the problem.

I know that the committee also met Clare Comhairle na nÓg and heard of the successful initiative with McAfee that has resulted in a cybersafety programme. Reference was made to how the programme is being rolled out through Clare Youth Service and other Youth Work Ireland regions. These initiatives, developed by young people, are real examples of a global and universal problem finding local solutions, generated and owned by young people themselves. No doubt, they are looking for innovative ways to ensure that what they advocate will be followed by their friends and colleagues and others.

My Department also provides funding to three national youth organisations that provide online safety resources for the youth sector. The National Youth Council of Ireland provides the web safety in youth work resource for young people; SpunOut, Ireland's youth information website, has developed an online safety hub that provides guidelines for young people on online safety; and Youth Work Ireland, in conjunction with McAfee Security, has developed a digital safety programme that highlights the risks associated with online activity.

As we know, the Internet is not age-bound. The risks and dangers apply to people of all ages. Children, however, are particularly vulnerable and need greater protection. This is why I welcome the work of the committee and the report. The challenges are not just for the Government; they are for all of society. There is also a role for parents and for industry and each must play its part. Parents are crucial actors in helping to ensure that children are safe online and particularly in establishing and maintaining ongoing open communication with their children so that where risks arise, children feel able to discuss them with their parents. The Government recognises the importance of the provision of reliable information to parents to equip them in supporting children's safety online, and this will be reflected in the forthcoming action plan for online safety.

Strengthening and consolidating information, support and services will be a key focus for the Department in the coming years and I will be outlining steps in that regard in the forthcoming early years strategy. The Internet operates across borders so the challenges we meet often arise from decisions taken outside our jurisdiction. Some solutions are outside our control but we have the advantage that many of the world's leading technology companies have a significant corporate presence here in Ireland. They can and must work with the Government in making the Internet a safer place. We need a truly joined-up approach in addressing the issue of cybersafety. The committee pointed this out. Dealing with the criminal behaviour associated with the Internet is a matter for the Department of Justice and Equality. Facilitating technology is the responsibility of the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment. The Department of Education and Skills plays a valuable role in regard to Internet safety in schools. The Department of Health has a particular interest through mental health and well-being services, and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation has responsibilities regarding industry and e-commerce. I am fully committed to playing my part in a co-ordinated cross-Government approach to dealing with this issue, particularly as it relates to children.

I acknowledge again the excellent work of the committee and can assure the House that the findings and recommendations in its report will be taken into account as part of the work being done by the Taoiseach's office in preparing a national action plan on online safety. As I stated, that plan is at an advanced stage of preparation.

5:30 pm

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Minister for that important overview.

Photo of Anne RabbitteAnne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for her statement and I thank Deputy Kate O'Connell for contributing on behalf of the committee's Chairman, Deputy Alan Farrell.

I attended every one of the sessions along with my colleagues. They were most informative, enjoyable and enlightening. It is a pity that they were on at 10 a.m. If they were on at 10 p.m., parents would actually have got an awful lot more out of them. As a parent, I got right into it. Having a 16 year old, a 15 year old and a 13 year old, I was hearing it all from all angles, and I really enjoyed it.

I want to acknowledge the stakeholders who appeared before the committee because they played an invaluable role in giving up their time to inform us about the issue. However, as the Minister said, they were not informing just one Department but a minimum of six Departments. That is the wonderful aspect of the Committee on Children and Youth Affairs. We do not hold all the work to ourselves, unlike the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality. We shared it on this issue with the Joint Committee on Justice and Equality but we also shared it with the committees on health, education, climate change, mental health and enterprise and innovation. We had a broad section of people appear before us on this issue, including representatives of the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; Webwise; Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, Special Rapporteur on Child Protection; the Law Reform Commission; the special crime operations section and the national protective services bureau of An Garda Síochána; the Office of the eSafety Commissioner, to which I will refer shortly; and Facebook. Regrettably, representatives of Snapchat refused to appear before us but in fairness to Niamh Sweeney and her colleague from Facebook, they appeared before us on the industry aspect. We also had representatives from Newbridge College, Wicklow Comhairle na nÓg and Clare Comhairle na nÓg. At the end, we had Dr. Mary Aiken and Professor Barry O'Sullivan. It is important to mention also the Internet Content Governance Advisory Group, which was led by Professor Brian O'Neill, as well as Ronan Lupton, Áine Lynch and Professor Joe Carthy.

All the Ministers appeared before the committee for the final part of the sessions. Apparently, it was the first time that happened. The Minister, Deputy Zappone, the Minister for Communications, Climate Action and Environment, Deputy Denis Naughten, the Minister for Justice and Equality, Deputy Flanagan, and the Minister forEducation and Skills, Deputy Richard Bruton, appeared before us. That showed a willingness to collaborate on the issue of cybersafety and protection of our children.

The momentum to deal with this issue started in February 2017 and we concluded our hearings in February 2018. It was a year's solid work. We would say we worked hard but the clerk to the committee and her team worked very hard also in writing to people and compiling the report. We received many submissions.

The content in terms of what was put before the committee was amazing. The media bought into our discussions and listened to them on a weekly basis, hence the Ministers came in behind us. The one element that kept coming through from the discussions was the question of a digital safety commissioner. Myself and the Minister had exchanges in the House during Question Time in recent days but a digital safety commissioner was an issue that continued to arise because there does not appear to be a proper level of governance or protection for our young people. Parents do not believe they are sufficiently equipped or educated because technology is changing so quickly in this area. They would appreciate having the short rule book on it because the children are ten steps ahead of us.

One lesson I learned last summer was to do with the Snapchat locations setting. I had never heard of that. In fairness, one of the radio stations carried the story on Snapchat locations. Children were not allowed on Snapchat until they were 13 but the age has been increased to 16. This time last year, a child could be on Snapchat but a new application, locations, appeared on it. That means that if someone turned on the locations setting, people could identify their location. If they were being followed, groomed or profiled, the person doing that would know where they lived. My children came to visit in the Dáil one day. Aoíbhinn put on her Snapchat location setting so when she went out to Grafton Street, I could tell where she was and if I could trace her location, so could every one of her friends. The radio programme carried the story about the Snapchat locations setting and advised parents to have the conversation about it with their children and that it should be turned off.

We also heard about another application that came out around last August, Sarahah, which was not the nicest one. On Snapchat children can talk to their friends but only negative and nasty commentary is put up on Sarahah. As a result of radio stations carrying the story, parents became aware of it. Many of them had the conversation with their children and were able to take down the site.

While Instagram is great for posting beautiful pictures and so on, it might give young girls the wrong impression that they have to look a particular way or that their make-up should be perfect. It is exposing children too much and sexualising them far too early.

Dr. Geoffrey Shannon made powerful statements to the committee. I believe he appeared before the Law Reform Commission before he appeared before our good selves. On the digital safety commissioner he stated:

The proposed Office of the Digital Safety Commissioner of Ireland should oversee effective and efficient take down procedure in a timely manner, regulating for a system of take down orders in respect of harmful cybercommunication made in respect of both adults and children. I would also add that in the terms of the role of the Digital Safety Commissioner and take down procedures there should be a requirement on the Digital Safety Commissioner to take down material within a specified period of time. It is an issue that is not expressly referenced in the report of the Law Reform Commission...

What we are talking about in that regard is children putting up inappropriate images on Instagram. They could take photographs of themselves or their friends and if they put them on the likes of Snapchat, one friend might like them and all of a sudden they would go to others. They could be then used as a form of bullying or for various other reasons. Also, if they are left in that sphere and they subsequently want to apply for a job or something like that, Dr. Shannon advised that they should take them down.

Dr. Shannon also spoke about fights taking place that are put on YouTube. Some of them show young children fighting or being paid to fight in particular areas, and he wanted those images to be taken down.

The right to be forgotten was another of Dr. Shannon's key recommendations. If a child is under an age when the brain might not have developed to a particular level, he or she should have that right of protection and the right to be forgotten.

Two groups of children appeared before the committee and while they were wonderful, I am glad we left them to the end of our discussions because if we had brought them to come in at the start, everything else would have been dull after their appearance.

Two staff members man the office for Internet safety in the Department of Justice and Equality. They are tasked with Internet safety for the entire country but to be fair to the two ladies who appeared before the committee, they produced 40,000 booklets on Internet safety. Unfortunately, they do not produce enough of them. They should have one for every national and secondary school because the quality of the content is second to none. The only complaint I have about that is that not enough booklets are produced. They should be put into every national school and not in September but at Christmas time when Santy might bring the child a phone or at confirmation time. In that way the conversation about Internet safety can be had. The office for Internet safety has done a huge amount of work for which it deserves great credit.

Representatives of An Garda Síochána appeared before us also. It has a team of 32 people working in the Phoenix Park headquarters. They discussed the amount of work they have to put in to deal with cyberbullying, profiling, grooming, sexting, what takes place in the underworld of the Internet and how cruel it can be to very young children. They explained that the most vulnerable are the most at risk.

They work with agencies such as Interpol, our European colleagues and others. One of the concerns I have with Brexit moving forward is how our communications will continue in order to protect children.

This report is amazing. The Minister is just one among many others but she is an Independent Alliance Minister in the Cabinet. I ask her to press for the action plan to come forward and also for the establishment of the digital safety commissioner. It is a must for our children.

5:50 pm

Photo of Denise MitchellDenise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein)
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The safety and security of young people online is one of the most pressing child protection issues we are facing at this time. I welcome this report. It presents a thorough analysis of the issues of concern to the wider public, along with 18 recommendations which we hope will address those concerns.

The Internet offers huge benefits to society through the sharing of information and in terms of communications for business and education. However, there are downsides. These range from the protection of personal information online to cyberbullying and child exploitation. A harsh light has been shone on some of the social media platforms, particularly Facebook, in recent months regarding the ability of third-party apps to harvest users' personal data. One of reasons many parents are so concerned about cybersecurity is that young people and children often have far better skills and knowledge of various apps, social media platforms and online services than they do. Parents often feel helpless and unable to keep up with the latest app or social media site. In a few short years the Internet has moved from a desktop computer to smartphones. This has increased parents' concerns because it is now more difficult to monitor children’s online activity.

One of the main recommendations in this report is the establishment of an office of digital safety commissioner. I commend this. This is something for which Sinn Féin, along with Deputy Rabbitte and Fianna Fáil, has advocated for a long time. It has also been called for by the Law Reform Commission. In addition, the special rapporteur on child protection, Dr. Geoffrey Shannon, has fully endorsed it. I consider it a priority. One of the major issues for legislators when dealing with online safety and cybersecurity is that responsibility falls across many Departments. We need a one-stop shop. We need an office which young people, parents, industry and legislators can rely on to advise on best practice when it comes to digital safety.

We all know that digital technology will continue to play an increasing role in the lives of young people. We must be sure that we have the tools to educate young people on how to use this technology in a respectful and safe way. I mentioned earlier that parents are often less savvy than their children in this area, so the education cannot be solely aimed at children. We must ensure that parents are educated and aware of the potential dangers children face when using these services. That is the reason I welcome many of the recommendations which deal with the need for education. The Internet, apps and social media play an increasing role in the lives of children and therefore it is vital that education on them is included in the school curriculum. Students must learn life skills as well as academic studies in school.

I also wish to mention the role of social media platforms in this. The industry has to be aware of its obligations to safeguard users. Indeed, the GDPR regulations go some way towards dealing with the use personal data. While there is an onus on parents to monitor their children’s use of the Internet, there is also an onus on Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram and others to ensure that those who use their services are able to report a problem, whether it is bullying, inappropriate content or a list of other concerns, and that it will be dealt with swiftly. In the committee we have been very clear that it is not acceptable for these companies to wash their hands of such problems. Various representatives told the committee that they will take this issue seriously. We will keep an eye on them over the coming months.

With regard to the Data Protection Bill and the digital age of consent, I particularly welcome one of the amendments that was proposed by my colleague, Deputy Ó Laoghaire, and passed. The amendment in question will protect children from profiling and micro-marketing while online. The amendment will restrict the profiling, harvesting and targeting of children and youths by companies that advertise on social media. This is not just about the nuisance advertisements that appear in the news feeds. Often advertisements targeted at young people are inappropriate and in some cases they are pushing certain agendas. The advertisements can be quite harmful to young people by making them very conscious of issues such as their appearance or body shape.

In summary, I welcome this report. The proposals it contains are sensible. They are built on those made by the Internet content governance advisory group in 2014. It is a shame that some of those recommendations are still outstanding. They should be implemented without delay. This is a very complex issue, but it must be tackled. The Internet is not going away. It is something people grow up with and is part of life, so we must reflect that in how we approach it.

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I call Deputy Eugene Murphy for the perspective from Roscommon.

Photo of Eugene MurphyEugene Murphy (Roscommon-Galway, Fianna Fail)
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I will not detain Members or officials for too long because I am sure people are anxious to get away. It would be remiss of me not to start by paying a big tribute to the eight women and three men on the committee, including Deputies Rabbitte and Mitchell, who have done an enormous amount of work. It is important that we get to work on implementing the 18 recommendations as quickly as possible, and I know the Minister will be very committed to that.

Our children and teenagers are at risk from many unknowns in the digital era. Cyberbullying is more often than not a silent predator. Knowledge, communication and oversight are more important now than ever. One thing is certain - what goes online stays online forever. How many children and teenagers have been tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarrassed or otherwise targeted by another child or teenager using the Internet, interactive and digital technologies or mobile telephones? I commented a few days ago that the telephone was invented for people to speak to each other, but it is no longer used for that. As a politician, I must try to keep up with everything that is happening but every few months there is a new way of getting messages. One finds that one cannot keep up with all the messages. Somebody might say "I sent you a message on WhatsApp and you did not reply". There are so many outlets for getting information, even for us, that it is absolutely impossible to keep up.

Research shows that probably 15% of primary school children are the victims of cyberbullying. It is probably almost the same for children in post-primary school.

Those figures are constantly growing. We have to tackle the issue and be serious about it. There is a general acceptance across the political arena that it is urgent. The people who use technology to bully may say things online or by text that they would never say face to face. They need to know they are responsible for their words in cyberspace as well as in the real world. If it comes down to it, the source of the abuse, the computer or phone being used, can be identified by the Garda.

I put together a newsletter with my staff and we circulated it. Of all the issues I have dealt with in my constituency, the huge response I got to this made me feel that it is probably the most important issue. In doing that research I found disturbing things. Many parents are afraid to tackle this issue. If their child is in the bedroom missing for half an hour, they know they are on the phone or some other device connected to the Internet. They are trying to balance not having a row with their child with still being responsible and making sure they know what is going on. They are afraid to set time limits or speak about it. In some cases they are allowing their children to dictate the pace. The one thing to come out of this is that parents must act strongly in this, be responsible and set the parameters. They need to get into a sensible conversation. It happens in our house. If somebody goes missing, we know where they are. It is important to say, "Hey, you've been at that for half an hour now, get out and kick a football or do something else." We need to engage them in a certain way.

In restaurants, many people have social media items to entertain their children, which is shocking. There is no conversation and they are playing away on some little device. It may be safe enough because the parents are there to regulate or watch what is going on. Is it not shocking, even at mealtime, even when people go out for an hour or an hour and a half, that they end up trying to keep the children quiet? Sometimes when they are very young, of course, it might be hard to keep them quiet. As a way of entertaining them I just do not like it. We need to talk to parents about those types of things. We need to engage with everybody.

I compliment everybody involved. I have no doubt that the Minister will do everything to get this matter sorted out as quickly as possible. I encourage parents, teenagers and everybody to engage in this.

Some of the stuff that appears on Facebook is horrific. Even with comments about people in politics, business or communities, I cannot understand some of the appalling language and bitterness. I appeal from the Oireachtas this evening for all people doing this to take stock and stop it. It is bad for society.

6:00 pm

Photo of Seán Ó FearghaílSeán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Ceann Comhairle)
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I thank the Deputy for those wise words.

Photo of Katherine ZapponeKatherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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I thank the three Deputies for their very powerful and eloquent contributions on this challenging issue. It is appropriate and impressive that we have two members of the committee who put the report together and also a Deputy who is not a member of the committee. They have all demonstrated in-depth knowledge of the issues, and a genuine on the ground engagement with their constituents and their families, which will influence and impact the way the Government and the Oireachtas move together as a whole on this issue. They are very fine public representatives in this regard. It is very impressive to listen to them.

It is not always the case that when a committee produces a report, that topic is taken up by the Department of the Taoiseach and it comes back to us here as an action plan. The committee's work was a catalyst to ensure that happened. That is very significant. Although the action plan that comes back may not contain a way of implementing all the recommendations the committee has suggested, I assure Members that I know it was used as a primary resource for that action plan. That is also very significant.

I listened to the Deputies referring to some of the recommendations in the report as well as augmenting those recommendations with their own reflections since that time. I am sure the committee members will look at that plan using their expertise, taking a whole-of-Government approach, because that is what they did to produce the report. We could well use the committee members' wisdom, experience and analysis to respond to that action plan.

In my earlier exchange with Deputy Rabbitte on the issue, I indicated my view on the recommendations of having a digital safety commissioner. I welcome that as a strong and good way forward. I understand that the action plan that is coming forward will focus on bringing together what is done, finding ways across Departments to streamline that, but also to offer some real additionality. The Government will work with the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Communications, Climate Action and Environment on the Digital Safety Commissioner Bill introduced by Deputy Ó Laoghaire. Fianna Fáil has also advocated strongly for that. The Government did not oppose the Second Stage of that Bill. The action plan commits us to working on the Bill. There are many complexities in that regard.

While that is going on with the Taoiseach's action plan, we will put in place some additional actions for which certain Departments will be responsible. That will mean that while we look for significant legislative change, we can move towards the implementation of certain actions within the relevant Departments that will be guided by many of the policy recommendations outlined in the committee's report.

I am deeply grateful for that. I am very proud that this has come from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs, although the committee does not report to me. Rather, I report to it. The committee took on board that whole-of-Government approach. I well remember the day that I was there with my other Government colleagues. It is not very often that four different Ministers appear before a committee to answer to the committee, say what we are doing and listen to the committee members' analysis in light of the evidence they collected in preparing the report.

The Government will continue to play its full part in working in a cross-Government way, especially working with the committee in moving this very significant issue forward and beginning to implement new actions relatively soon in light of the committee's influence in getting the Department of the Taoiseach to put in place an action plan on the issue.

Question put and agreed to.

The Dáil adjourned at at 6.50 p.m. until 2 p.m. on Tuesday, 19 June 2018.