Mary Fitzpatrick (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to bring up a very important issue that is undermining and corroding my community and communities all over the country. I refer to the issue of antisocial behaviour. I define antisocial behaviour as behaviour that is unfriendly in any way. It can be anything from being rude online to gratuitous random attacks of physical violence. These have been documented in the media but unfortunately far too many people are experiencing them in real life. They are being experienced in our public spaces, on public transportation, in public parks, on our streets and outside of people's homes. It is not rampant. It is typically a small group of people who are engaging in this type of behaviour. It is not representative of my community or of communities around the country. We need a full debate on the issue in the House. I am a founding director of a community policing forum in Cabra. I know that communities are engaged. Community gardaí provide an invaluable service. They know who belongs in their communities. We need a debate on the resourcing of community gardaí in every community around the country. The other group we need to involve in this debate is the social media platforms. Snapchat, Whatsapp and TikTok have to stop acting as if they have no responsibility in this space. They cannot abdicate their responsibility. We cannot allow them to do so. They have a social obligation and responsibility to ensure that materials and content being shared on their platforms are not antisocial in any way. We need to hold them to account. I would like the Leader to organise a debate on that issue.