Denis Naughten (Roscommon-Galway, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Of course they do. I do not agree with the Senator's proposal to have a ban on the use of mobile phones at particular ages. The only way we could do that is to have a ban on the use of the SIM card rather than the device as a result of the way technology is changing. With the wider use of the internet, we will see a situation where very small children will have a bracelet with a SIM card in it in case they get lost. That is the way technology is going and the way the internet is developing. That kind of regulation will not happen but there are a number of things we can do. We need to make parents far more aware of the issues.We need to strengthen the legislation in this area and I am actively considering this. The Law Reform Commission has examined this and I have already said I am exploring issues in this area. In fact, there is a paper on the subject on my desk as I speak.

It is important to remember that we are part of the European Union. In recent weeks, after a long period of negotiation, we successfully signed up to the EU "roam like at home" initiative, which will allow mobile telephone users in Ireland to roam right across the European Union and pay the exact same charges they would pay here in Ireland from 15 June. That is a reciprocal arrangement. It means any SIM card from abroad that comes here and that could be unregistered can also be used here. We all know that people who want to avoid detection will easily find ways of doing so. Putting in place an administrative system that registers 99.999% of SIM cards will still not deal with the criminal issue. Powers exist to intercept telecommunications messages. I am quite willing to examine these on a national or European basis to determine whether we need to review them to deal with criminal activity.

What we need to do is make people more aware of the risks and work with the various companies. Gmail, for example, has an age limit for registration and it opens up quite a number of services. There are a number of responsible companies at present. Many more of them would like to put more formalised procedural structures in place, just as 3, Vodafone and Meteor have done in regard to their codes of practice. In general, the device companies, operators and social media companies moving into this space are very anxious to put in place the types of child protection measures that should be in place. That is better because, if we can achieve this, not only will it apply to Ireland, but Ireland will effectively regulate what happens in Europe. This can apply right across the European Union and protect children no matter where they live in the Union.