Tommy Broughan (Dublin North East, Labour)
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Question 63: To ask the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform if he has reviewed a copy of the recent report from the Internet Service Providers' Association on complaints regarding Internet child pornography; if he is considering measures to block such material being hosted on Irish sites; if there are EU wide initiatives being undertaken in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13615/06]

Michael McDowell (Dublin South East, Progressive Democrats)
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I have received a copy of the recently published third report of the ISPAI hotline which was launched recently by the Minister of State at the Department of Health and Children, Deputy Brian Lenihan, and I have noted its contents.

Child pornography is illegal in this jurisdiction and in most other jurisdictions throughout the world. Under the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998, one of the most robust Acts anywhere, the possession, distribution, importation and exportation or sale of all forms of child pornography — films, videos, or material in written or auditory form, including material produced or transmitted via the Internet — are offences with penalties of up to 14 years' imprisonment. Mere possession of child pornography can be punishable by imprisonment for up to five years. Using a child or allowing a child to be used for the production of child pornography is also punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment. The Garda Síochána is committed to the investigation of all cases of child pornography and the importance of investigating the child protection issues involved in such cases.

In Ireland, as well as in most jurisdictions, what is illegal off-line is considered illegal on-line. Irish Internet service providers will not therefore accept such material for hosting on their servers whether generated in this jurisdiction or elsewhere, and will report any such material to the gardaí.

Measures to combat child pornography on the Internet, however, are hampered by a multiplicity of jurisdictions, differing legal systems and differing societal norms. Furthermore, developments in new communications technologies allow for Internet access from many means other than the traditional personal computer. For these reasons, combating the production and availability of child pornography on the Internet requires a combination of responses, and the co-operation of all the stakeholders at national and international level — legislators, law enforcement, service providers, schools, child protection practitioners, and most important of all, parents and guardians.

A system of self-regulation by the Internet service provider industry is in place which helps to ensure that child pornography and other material illegal in this jurisdiction is not made available on Irish servers. The self-regulatory approach to Internet regulation is the norm at EU level and worldwide. The components of this self-regulatory system are an Internet advisory board which promotes awareness of Internet downside issues and monitors the progress of self regulation by the Internet service provider industry, a public hotline for reporting child pornography and an industry code of practice and ethics setting out the duties and responsibilities of each Internet service provider. The Irish code of practice and ethics is recognised throughout Europe as a model of its type.

As well as overseeing a self-regulatory regime for the Irish Internet service providers, the Internet advisory board encourages best practice procedures, provides advice and facilitates research in Internet-related issues including child safety. My Department provides secretarial and other supports for the board's work.

The hotline,www.hotline.ie, funded by the Internet Service Providers' Association of Ireland with support from the EU Safer Internet Action Plan, accepts and investigates reports from the public about child pornography and other illegal material on the internet. Special protocols operate between the gardaí and the hotline which maximise co-operation on law enforcement issues so that offences in the area of child pornography can be detected and prosecuted. While the hotline's recently published third report, covering the period July 2003 to December 2005, shows increasing levels of reporting of potentially illegal material by the public, no case where the material was confirmed as referring to illegal child pornography was traced as either hosted in or distributed from Ireland.

The hotline works closely with, and is a founding member of the international INHOPE Association, www.inhope.org a network of European hotlines which is expanding to all parts of the world. The INHOPE Association develops procedures and shares information on the best practices for the tracing and tracking of illegal child pornography.

The European Union has taken a strong line on combating child pornography and other illegal and harmful uses of the Internet. Since 1999, under the Safer Internet Action Plan, the EU has provided financial and other supports for measures in the member states to combat illegal and harmful uses of the Internet, with particular emphasis on protecting children. A new EU action plan, Safer Internet Plus, covering the period 2005-08, and with a budget of €45 million, was agreed under the Irish Presidency in June 2004 and is now in operation. The Department is represented on the management committee for the programme.

The EU Council adopted a Framework Decision on Combating the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Child Pornography on 22 December 2003. While Ireland's Child Trafficking and Pornography Act 1998 is a particularly robust legislative measure, the Department is preparing additional legislative provisions to ensure compliance with this framework decision.

Ireland signed up to the Council of Europe's Convention on Cybercrime in June 2002. The main objective of the convention is to foster international co-operation in protecting society against cybercrime. The convention deals specifically with the distribution of child pornography on the Internet, infringements of copyright, computer related fraud and violations of network security.