Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am delighted to hear the tributes to Tom Murphy. He was an extraordinary, wonderful writer who reached deeply into Ireland and parts of Ireland's experience and imagination that sometimes were never given proper focus. I wrote about him in my thesis many years ago. "Bailegangaire" was one of the most influential plays in my life. He captured not only the realities and sometimes the cruelties of existence in times of pressure but also the passion for life and the extraordinarily transcendent power of the imagination. He celebrates what it is to be able to tell one's stories in difficult circumstances. I am thinking of all those who are telling their stories in difficult circumstances at present in Ireland, and I hope we can move out of the silence and into a space where we can all speak again with regard to the other decision being made on 25 May.

The other issue I wish to raise is different from the extraordinary work of literature and theatre which has so often told Ireland difficult truths about itself. It is the works of manipulation we are seeing in the online space. This might be a useful opportunity to place in context what we have been discussing in Ireland. This week Facebook announced that it had to close 283 million fake accounts in just three months. That is a reminder of the scale of misinformation, misrepresentation and manipulation that is taking place in the online space.

In Ireland also, a multiplicity of accounts are being closed down while other accounts are being opened. I welcome that the Government has indicated that it wishes to examine and support the work on transparency and regulation in the online media space. Can the Leader ensure that in that cross-departmental work which has been indicated by the Taoiseach - I give credit to Deputy James Lawless on this because while he is of a different political persuasion from me he has done great work in this area - those from different parties and none across the Oireachtas will be able to engage in that process in some way? Perhaps he could also indicate the timelines for that process.