Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I join others in expressing concern about the closure of the Cuisle centre in Roscommon. Like others, I have been in contact with those who have been raising their concerns about the closure and about what it will mean for the service users as it is the only fully accessible holiday and respite centre available. I join others in expressing concern in that regard.

I call on the Leader for a debate on aspects of the Law Reform Commission's current work. I was delighted to be at its annual conference this morning. I know colleagues from the Oireachtas were also there. We heard presentations on two areas on which the commission will be focusing in respect of law reform, both of which will be of great interest to us in the Seanad. The first is the issue of regulation of technology and privacy in the digital arena. This is very significant in the context of the regulation of social media and online bullying, but also with regard to new technologies like facial recognition, deepfake technology and so on. We heard some very worrying examples of the ways in which technology has been used for negative purposes, although it has also been used for very positive purposes. I refer particularly to the purposes of harassment, bullying, and so on. We also heard about ways in which we could approach regulation. We might have a debate on the matter in due course.

The other area in which the commission is working is that of sex offence reform. In particular, it is looking at the definitions used in the law on rape and at consolidation of sex offence law. That is again something which we might usefully debate once the Law Reform Commission has completed its work.