Alice-Mary Higgins (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Both amendments are complementary. A really important point about amendment No. 24 is that it refers to community and community awareness programmes. At the moment it relates to educational initiatives and activities and educational bodies. Ireland has one of the lowest levels of digital literacy in the EU. That is shocking when we have these tech giants all around and we are early adopters in respect of lots of technology, so there is an assumption. However, EU studies have found that 40% or more people in Ireland lack basic digital skills. We have a massive digital divide around skills and empowerment. That is not about working in the sector but people being able to do basic things. Lots of people lose a huge amount of independence because they have to rely on others for their online engagement. That is why I am concerned at the way it is framed now. It is about education and people who are in the education system and the educational bodies. While we have silver surfers and people of every age who are incredibly skilled, a huge number of people in the community are not and also have literacy issues. There are things later about promoting literacy and media literacy but there is a danger that this box could be ticked by something for schools or university and that we would end up not delivering the really important area. There are other things here too like evaluation. We are valuing what is working and what is not. That is something that is in our amendment.

On the general data protection regulation, GDPR, something I have pushed for and continue to do so is the idea that a proportion of the fines from GDPR should be ring-fenced for digital empowerment because that would effectively support people in their data rights. It is about empowerment. Were I to add anything to our amendment it would be "empowerment" as well as "understanding". It might seem as though it is very similar to what is there already but there is a really important nuance and difference. I hope that the Minister will take that on board.