Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. I thank the Minister for prioritising this important Bill and for all the work that she has put into it along with her officials. I thank also the Oireachtas committee for the work it has put in, in terms of examining it. I certainly appreciate the Minister's clarification on a number of issues at the start - it was very welcome - and her thorough analysis of the Bill and all of its parts. I am certainly pleased to support this Bill in the House this evening.

Media safety is so important. The integrity, honesty and transparency that we attach to media and the need to know that they are all of those things are really important. It certainly deserves a lot of focus on it. While there are already significant regulatory and legal frameworks in place in relation to many online issues such as data protection and criminal justice responses to criminal activities online, there is a serious gap, both internationally and here in Ireland, when it comes to addressing harmful online content. It is good to see that this new Bill will close the legal gap and it will establish a robust regulatory framework to deal with the spread of harmful online content.

The fact that this Bill will establish a new regulator, a multi-person media commission to which an online safety commissioner will be appointed, is very welcome.

Having a strong, robust and reliable media and social media is so important, especially in light of the key role that the media played during the Covid pandemic. The considerable role that the media performed in dispersing key Covid and health messaging shows the vital role that they play within our society when used correctly and in a positive manner. You cannot beat the media in terms of the dispersal of accurate and true information. Ensuring that citizens are provided with accurate and comprehensive information is of vital importance. Citizens need to be well informed of the goings on within their country. The media are a key link between decision-makers and the people but they also are a vulnerable one. Many people rely on them for information from the Government and for other factual content and it is important that they are getting correct and reliable information.

While media freedom is at the core of democracy, it is paramount that there is little or no disinformation being spread by the media. The need for professionalism and fact-checking is crucial when giving information is vital, especially in times of crisis. I am pleased to hear that Ireland ranks 12th out of 180 countries regarding the 2021 World Press Freedom Index. This proves our dedication to free media and our media's dedication to combating disinformation. However, we must always remain vigilant and this Bill certainly helps us to do that.

We have seen the power of disinformation in recent years, months and, would I say, days, especially in terms of recent US presidential elections and the concerted efforts made by Russia to utilise modern media and social media platforms to spread misinformation and to combat the reliability of certain media.Online safety is obviously a key part of this. Especially in the debate we had around Coco's Law, there was a really strong demand for an online safety commissioner. That is the key part of this for me. A significant proportion of our lives happen online nowadays and this is particularly true for those of us in public office. We all need to be vigilant about our own safety and know the signs to look out for online. This is especially important for our younger generations. We must protect our young people, children and teenagers. I refer to those who are growing up online, engaging in their first relationships online and using online tools and social media in their daily lives. We must ensure that we have a regulatory framework that is fit to purpose but also that we are educating our young people about how to conduct themselves online in a very safe way. I have every confidence this Bill will go a long way to doing that. When it gets to Committee Stage we will look at all the detail, much more will be examined and there will be further analysis. I welcome this Bill reaching Second Stage and thank the Minister for the work she has put into it.