Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Senator Higgins has started a very interesting debate, and I congratulate her on that. The contributions from Senators on both sides of the House are useful.

They say when a Bill is opposed on Second Stage, it is being opposed in principle. I was touched by the arguments put forward on this side of the House because I welcome free speech, and I defend freedom of expression to the end. I disagree with what Senator Crown said but I will defend to the death his right to say it.

We have got to look at boundaries, what is safe behaviour and what is unsafe behaviour. Along with Senators Noone, Moloney and Higgins, I, too, have had a tough time on social media on occasion. It could be said I brought some of that on myself, and I am not saying I did not make errors, but nobody deserves to be defamed. That is an offence. Nobody deserves to be a victim of cyberbullying. That is an offence. I am talking about young people who are going through a very tough time. It is an offence to groom a young person.

I am not saying this Bill is perfect but we should use the content of both sides of the debate presented here and craft smart amendments. I have no doubt that Senator Higgins and Senator Bacik are listening. In light of what has been presented here, we could tweak this Bill considerably because something needs to be done. The message must go out from this House that we are responsible for our actions and our words, and that they can hurt and damage. Politicians have spoken here about getting tough treatment but all a politician trades on is his or her reputation, and a reputation can be very easily destroyed. When one has to have recourse to the courts to have one's reputation defended under defamation legislation, it can be risky and costly. It is time that we stepped up to the plate and took this problem seriously.

There is definitely a need for education and information about this problem in the context of social, personal and health education. In the past, I was involved in working on curricular development in that area. It is now time that curriculum was revised in light of social media, other technologies and digital communications. It is vital that boundaries are discussed with our young people in schools in terms of what is safe and unsafe behaviour.

We have to realise, and I am not preaching about this as I have teenagers, that social media is moving at a rapid pace. Young people live on and live far. The first question asked in a restaurant is about the Wi-Fi code. I hear it every day, and guess what? I am doing it now. Our young people cannot possibly live without it.

This is the space in which good and bad things take place. There are many benefits to social media. In terms of the traditional media in the past, it would be very difficult for many members of the public to get published. Now everyone can be published, but with that comes responsibility.We have a very big issue to address in terms of our young people and the balance of interaction at an interpersonal level, between real, live physical human beings in front of one, and those in cyberspace or on social media.

I was reminded by something Senator Conway said when he mentioned Comhairle na nÓg. Approximately a month ago, I had a similar experience with young people in Comhairle na nÓg in Oranmore. The one thing that came across, particularly from the girls, was their absolute need to be perfect. I cannot tell the House how many times they used the word "perfect" with regard to the images presented to them on social media and how they were prompted. They felt they could no longer make a distinction between what social media told them was perfect and the sexualisation of young girls versus the fact it is okay not to be perfect according to the definitions presented on social media. This is just as dangerous as some of the offences Senator Higgins points out in the Bill.

I hope I have brought something to the debate. I say well done to Senator Higgins. On balance, the Bill is worth supporting. I am not saying it is a perfect Bill, and I do not think Senator Higgins would say this, but I was struck by the gender balance in the House on the issue. The four females who have spoken have seen the Bill as necessary.