Eugene Murphy (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I join with the Cathaoirleach, the Leader and the leader of the Fianna Fáil group, Senator Lisa Chambers, in expressing our deep sorrow and heartfelt sympathy for the people of Creeslough. Many people, including me, have stood in that filling station. We have holidayed in that part of County Donegal in recent years. We love Donegal people. Those local shops and filling stations are lovely places to go into. People will always have a chat. Like everyone else, I feel hopeless. All we can do is to pray. One thing we should do, as someone said, when all the reporters and politicians have gone, is to make it our business to call there when we can, on a weekend or whenever, just to say "Hello" to people and let them know we are still thinking about them six to nine months down the road. The emergency services personnel did a fantastic job. It is a fantastic community. Undoubtedly, some tough days lie ahead for those people this week. It was only when listening to the coverage of the funeral this morning that I was struck by the sadness people there are dealing with these days.

Turning to a different issue, the Irish Music Rights Organisation, IMRO, radio awards were held last Saturday night in Kilkenny. I compliment the many people in national, regional and local radio broadcasting who won awards. It is important that we recognise the work done by these people. I congratulate, in particular, those involved with the "Joe Finnegan Show" on Shannonside FM who won a gold award in the current affairs regional radio section. I think the Leader was interviewed on the show when she was a Minister. It is a flagship programme and one I produced previously. This award came for the interview with Eden Heaslip's family following his tragic death in Cavan. The piece was entitled "Be Buddies, Not Bullies" and the interview kick-started a major mental health and suicide awareness campaign. It also attracted national recognition for raising the issue of bullying among teenagers and young adults, especially on social media.

We have discussed this topic on many occasions here, so I do not have to tell Members about it. We have the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill 2022 coming onboard here now. I thank Kevin McDonald and Joe Finnegan for what they did in this regard. I heard them saying on Monday morning that they are not finished with this story. They are going to continue to deal with it for the sake of many of the people who are suffering death because of bullying. This is the tragic line I must use: "death because of bullying".