Rónán Mullen Backs Humane Bill, Warns on Online Harm

Cathaoirleach, Áireachtas, Coram Fáilte Róth, Agus Coram Fáilte Ribhainmhile, Táchtach Seo. I won't say much other than to signal my own personal support for this important and humane piece of legislation. I want to commend the Fianna Fáil Senators in particular and all those, and also involved, and also your Self-Minister for bringing this forward. It's always very impressive, I think, these are the better moments in our society when family members, loved ones, act out of their own grief and pain to seek change in some way as a fitting memorial to the person that they have lost, but also in solidarity with others who may have been similarly affected or might be affected. I think a lot of us would have great admiration, for example, for the Kevin Bell Repatriation Trust, which grew out of a family's loss of a loved one abroad, and their fundraising to bring him home led to them acting in solidarity with others who would find themselves in a similar position. We see the countless works of good works being done by people who have lost a loved one or a family member to Alzheimer's or to cancer, or who appreciate the help and support they got from the hospice, and they go out then and they fundraise to assist others. I think what the loved ones and the families who have acted so importantly and well here in pressuring for this change in the law stands in that same tradition of reaching out of one's own grief and loss to make a difference for the sake of others who might be affected in the future, to prevent, of course, rather than more than anything else. And so I want to add my words of welcome to David and Jo, who are here today. I also want to note what Senator Stevenson had to say about the wider toxic culture that's there, and she mentioned in particular, and she was right to do so, online culture. In reality, no one piece of legislation can help us address the mountain of problems that we face as a society as we grapple with the problem of violence, of predatory attitudes, and so on. And we discuss it every single day in the Shannon. One area of concern to myself in particular is that of pornography, which is doing huge damage to young people online. It is rewiring their brains. It is hurting their ability to develop emotionally. It is inculcating negative attitudes between men and women, between young men and women in particular, leading to a whole range of problems. And we've been talking a lot in these days about the need to ban under-16s from being able to open accounts on social media. But in fact, there's a toxic trio out there online, which is not just social media, but pornography itself and also video games. I was reading about Grand Theft Auto only the other day, and this strange world that people can inhabit, which isolates them from others, and they're living out most unhelpful fantasies. You can hire a prostitute or hire a hitman on Grand Theft Auto. I know I'm straying from the immediate context, but what I'm trying to say here is that legislation alone, this is important, but we really have a mountain to climb here in terms of helping to make our society more safe again, particularly for women, but not just for women, of course, for men, women, and children. So let's all recommit to working to make our society safer and to making the policy choices that are necessary in order to try and achieve some of that. But sincere congratulations and support to you, Minister, and to everybody involved with this important piece of legislation before us this evening.