Victor Boyhan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I warmly welcome the Minister of State to the House. It is great to see him back as a Minister of State. I thank my colleague and fellow Independent Senator, Senator Joan Freeman, and my other Independent colleagues who have co-signed the Bill. When Senator Freeman contacted me I did not have to think twice because she is known for her record in safeguarding and protecting children. Other Senators have alluded to this as well. She has a strong record in this area and in the area of mental health. She touched on self-harm, suicide, self-esteem and vulnerability. These are all important issues that affect young people and older people.

It is strange when people talk about younger people because we are all vulnerable. We all have our moments. No one likes to be criticised and certainly no one wants to be humiliated through a medium outside his or her control on the Internet or through all the technologies that go with it. Politicians are all aware of that. There is not one politician who, at some point, has not had an experience relating to Facebook or some form of social media. This is a risk.

Senator Lombard referred to an international dimension. There are local, national and international dimensions in all of this. We should consider this in the context of the European Union and how we can address these issues at that level. We all know that if we go outside the European Union then we have roaming charges. People know where we travel because of our use of technology. There are mechanisms. People do not fail to send the bill to customers. Therefore, we can track people down. As I said before, the iPhone is a powerful tool. If abused or misused it can do extraordinary damage to people's heads, old and young. That is an important point.

I wish to recap to be sure and clear what we are talking about in what this Bill is attempting to do. The Bill aims to regulate legal but age-inappropriate content by way of take-down enforcement procedures. This procedure will operate where material falls within the definition of harmful material set out in the Bill. I recommend that everyone should read the explanatory memorandum that comes with the Bill. It clearly sets out the matter. We do not want any ambiguity. It is clearly set down in the explanatory memorandum and it is important that we should say as much.

Earlier, Senator Freeman talked about the 33 Internet service providers in Ireland registered with the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland. None has uniform consistent complaints procedures or uniform actions to respond to complaints. That is a concerning fact. These are the difficulties that must be addressed and taken on board. There was talk about the model in Australia. We do not have to go that far. There is a European dimension to this.

Senator Freeman has put this matter on the table. She has put the heads of this Bill up for discussion. Clearly we are in the early stages of it, but I encourage all groups, parties and people involved, whether in the House or outside the House, to come and make contact with Senator Freeman or anyone else in Leinster House with their ideas and suggestions.

Senator Freeman referred to Professor Mary Aiken coming in to do a presentation. Perhaps it should be somewhere more formal than the audio-visual room because it requires more analysis that simply ten minutes of an AV presentation. The suggestion is a good one and I would like if Senator Freeman proceeded with it. I know the Senator has worked well with her contacts to progress this matter.

The point raised by Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee is a good one.I am glad Fianna Fáil will introduce legislation proposing the appointment of a digital safety commissioner. No one has a monopoly on this issue and that proposal should be implemented. The Taoiseach talked about this, changed his mind and then said he was not sure. We all recognise there is a problem that needs to be addressed. We are all concerned about people's health and well-being and the impact of information technology. We should, therefore, pursue the idea of having a digital safety commissioner. We should use this Bill as the basis for powerful legislation that attempts to regulate and address the serious shortcomings in this area. I thank Senator Freeman for her work and wish this legislation well as it goes through the various Stages.