Lisa Chambers (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister of State for delivering the reply on behalf of the Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee. As I suspected, he suggested that the current harassment legislation is sufficient. I will again make the point, as I did with the stalking Bill.One of the reasons we finally acknowledged, as a Government, that it was important to have a standalone offence of stalking was that there was evidence from the UK that showed when you have a standalone offence and call it what it is, and where it is very clear, you increase awareness of the crime. That has a twofold impact. It increases reporting of the crime and, very importantly, it increases prosecutions. The same argument holds for this piece of legislation. You could argue that the harassment legislation is sufficient but it is confusing. It is not obvious to someone who is experiencing catfishing. With regard to impersonating a person, I do not think people would be straightaway drawn to the very specific circumstances of catfishing. It is using somebody's information and image online and seeking to enter a relationship with somebody else. It is quite specific in what it is. It has become a recent phenomenon. There is an obvious explanation as to why there is a gap in the law. How could existing legislation deal with that? Existing legislation is more used to traditional methods of interaction among people and is not always geared towards the online space so it makes sense that we have not yet dealt with this.

There is significant merit in having a standalone offence of catfishing because it is a particular type of activity or situation that relates to something quite specific. When we look at the case of Aoibhín, who I mentioned, at the time the Department of Justice was asked for its views on catfishing and it said there was no specific offence at the time. It also said that it is quite obvious if there is a fraud included. That is not what we are looking to cover here. Fraud is catered for. This is a specific offence where somebody impersonates another person intending to enter a relationship or engage with another person online but where there is no financial benefit from it. It is not that they are making money out of it. Again, we may not know the reason they do it. In Aoibhín's case, she still did not know why the person had done this to her. They were creating multiple online profiles. She had approached Tinder to try to get the image taken down but Tinder was not interested because it was not a criminal offence and it had, I suppose, bigger and better things to be getting on with. Similarly, there was no recourse for her through the Garda at the time either. In that interview, she said to Ellen Coyne that she was waiting for someone to sit across from her and start a date that she does not know she is supposed to be on because those profiles were using the address where she was living. When she was out and about in her own community, she was looking over her own shoulder wondering if someone was going to tap her on the shoulder and say, "Hey, I have been engaging with you on X platform" or whatever it might be. It is quite a specific occurrence, and it is becoming more common.

There is an onus on us not to try to fit a square peg into a round hole but to have fit-for-purpose legislation that calls it what is and sets out what it is. Then it would be very easy understandable for people. Our laws are complicated enough as it is. We are not all politicians, legislators or lawyers. For the general public, it is important that our laws make sense and are accessible to people. That is important for the Garda as well. As I said, the argument I have made with previous legislation is there is evidence to show that when you have a standalone offence and call it and name it what it is, it has a very positive impact with regard to improving the criminal justice system and access for victims. It increases reporting and prosecutions, and that is the argument behind this. With regard to trying to squeeze it in under the harassment section that was brought through in 2023, I am obviously very familiar with the miscellaneous provisions Bill because it contained the stalking offence that I brought through this House initially, when the Department at the time told me it was not needed and tried to block it. Now it is in the Bill and I am really glad that it is being legislated for. I hope we do not have a similar type of journey with this Bill, and that it would be considered for the reasons I have outlined. Particularly for younger people who will benefit from this, it will be very easily understandable. It is important that our laws are fit for purpose.

We are behind in legislating for the online space. As I mentioned in my initial contribution, there is a role for Coimisiún na Meán. Of course, there is a role at a European level because the online space does not know borders and we have to work with other members states as well. We also have to take responsibility in the Oireachtas and legislate where we see a gap in the law. On that basis, I am pleased the Government is not opposing the Bill. That leaves space to bring it through and I am glad to have had the opportunity to have the debate and to create more awareness around the issue. I hope I have made some persuasive arguments as to why the Bill has merit.