Liam Fitzgerald (Fianna Fail)

I listened very carefully to the points being made by the previous speakers. On the one hand there is a deep and serious validity to what they have said. I would agree with 99% of what I have heard in terms of the abusive content of messages being exchanged and the vulnerability of young and older people to harassment and intimidation and all kinds of illegal, immoral and unacceptable activities. Nevertheless a distinction must be drawn between the purpose of the Bill, which is to deal with the provision of services, and the issue raised by Senators of the content of messages. If messages are criminal in nature, are deemed to be so or are decided to be so by the Houses of the Oireachtas, such issues are appropriate for the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and not for this Department. The intent of the Bill makes that clear. I do not see any role or purpose for it within the context of this Bill. Nevertheless, Senators have raised a valid point and it should be conveyed to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.