Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his engagement, particularly on this section. I have been completely opposed to raising the age to 16, not only because I feel it inappropriate from a personal standpoint and as a parent and legislator, but also because I chose to listen to experts in the field, such as the CEO of Barnardos, the CEO of Childline and CEO of the Children's Rights Alliance. Not listening to the people who are there to protect our children and advocate for our children was an odd move on behalf of some of the other political parties. The amendment which the Minister states might be an issue is an amendment I support. I understand the Minister's concerns about it, but for me it is a positive amendment. My only fear is that it is weakened by the age of consent being set at 16. The reason I believe it is weakened is from the beginning of the debate we heard from people who wanted the age set at 16 because this is about protecting children's data, protecting children online and protecting them from being targeted. We will only allow children to stay within the loop of not being targeted through amendment No. 24. Setting the age at 16 means those aged 13 must say they are 16, and by the time they turn 15 their online profile will state they are 18, which will allow them to be targeted before they have reached the age of consent. While I see amendment No. 24 is very strong, those who campaigned to raise the age to 16 have done a disservice to the function of amendment No. 24 and I want to put this on the record. I do not know why it was not picked up earlier in the Dáil when Sinn Féin and Fianna Fáil supported raising the age of consent to 16 that, in fact, amendment No. 24 would have done what we set out to do while also protecting children and allowing them to tell the truth about their age at 13.