Joanna Byrne
Louth · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“Irish artists and writers have given their labour, blood, sweat, tears and dreams to creating something uniquely human - songs, stories, music and paintings that mean so much to many - only to see their labour being fed to AI systems without their consent and without being financially compensated for their loss.”
“A couple of days before my tenth birthday, I came home from school to once again find my mother beaten to a pulp and our home smashed to pieces. The bravery of my mother that day changed the course of our lives forever.”
“The basic income for artists scheme was only made permanent after it proved it could boost the economy. Many of our beloved cultural events are based on Irish artists having the backing to be able to hone their craft and share their art.”
“As a nine-, eight-, seven-, six- and five-year-old girl, I used to sit at the top of the stairs and pray to hear my mam scream or cry because it was the only way I knew she was surviving another beating.”
“We have the Presidency at the Council of the EU for the next six months and this is the opportune time to act. Whether by accident or design, putting protections in place has been non-existent or has been moving at a snail's pace.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this motion on protecting the copyright of Irish artists in the era of artificial intelligence. It is important to note this is a nuanced and targeted motion to protect Irish artists across the entire spectrum of the arts.”
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“The city status group met with many Ministers in many different Governments over the years and they presented the case for Drogheda's city status. They outlined various difficulties the town was incurring because different parts of it were run by Louth County Council and Meath County Council, with no overall cohesive plan for the area. We have two councils with no holistic plan for housing, infrastructure, transport, employment, and community and sporting amenities. This has proven to choke progress and stifle the growth of the largest town in the country. Every elected representative from all parties and none in Drogheda supports the city status campaign, including those from the Government parties. I ask that the Government listen to them.”
“The purpose of this Bill is to provide that the municipal district area that includes the local electoral area of Drogheda urban be known as the municipal district of Drogheda city and to provide that specified classes of towns that satisfy the requirements provided for by the Bill may be granted city status, and to provide for related matters. During the submission phases for Project Ireland 2040, the national planning framework and regional spatial and economic strategy, a massive number of submissions were made advocating for city status for Drogheda. Lobby groups and local citizens did what the Government asked them to do to play their part in our democracy and they articulately and eloquently stated the case for city status. None of those submissions received the due consideration it should have.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide that the municipal district area that includes the Local Electoral Area of Drogheda Urban shall be known in the Irish language as Ceantar Bardasach Chathair Dhroichead Átha and in the English language as the Municipal District of Drogheda City, and for that purpose to amend the Local Government Act 2001; to provide that specified towns which comply with the requirements provided for by this Act may be granted city status and for those purposes to amend the Local Government Act 2001; and to provide for related matters. It gives me great pleasure to introduce to this House my first Bill, the Local Government (Cities) Bill 2026.”
“Although this broke my heart and is something I am still trying to process and rebuild, I proudly and staunchly reiterate Sinn Féin's opposition, and my own, I might add, to Ireland playing Israel in this fixture. Israel is an apartheid state which has engaged in ethnic cleansing and genocide. Its slaughter of footballers and bombing of football pitches cannot be accepted and normalised. Front-line Israeli soldiers with blood on their hands lining out against our international team cannot be accepted or normalised. Sportswashing cannot be accepted or normalised. I am proud to have stood up and to speak up despite the consequences. Any representative of this Government who endorses this game proceeding needs to give themselves a good shake and be aware that they are going down on the wrong side of history.”
“Just imagine what that could bring in if significant investment by the Government was channelled into facilities. The future of Irish football lies in the Minister of State's hands and I implore him to take a realistic reflection of Government's investment in our sport. We need genuine tangible investment in the stadiums and academies if we want to see glory days again. I wish to touch on comments made recently by me in my capacity as Sinn Féin's spokesperson on sport opposing Ireland playing Israel in the upcoming UEFA Nations League match. This, as everybody is aware by now, came at huge personal cost to me and led to me being removed from my role as chairperson of the football club I have grown up in and spent my life loving.”
“The momentum is there and it could be the easiest win of the Minister of State's Ministry to invest in the future of Irish football and take the credit for watching it bloom. To realise the full potential of football in this country, facilities have to be key. The FAI-branded League of Ireland facilities are archaic with only one stadium reaching more than 10,000 capacity, while Ireland is among the lowest in the EU for stadium projects. While average attendance has risen to over 4,000, many grounds rely on temporary structures and outdated stands. My own club is the same and has not been updated since my own grandfather built it by hand in the 1970s with the help of tradesmen in the town on their evenings and weekends. Yet, despite infrastructural constraints, the League of Ireland contributed €1.64 million to the Irish economy in 2023.”
“The Department of education in 1996 published a code of practice guidance document for safety at sports grounds, and there has been no updated version since despite all the changes in society, technology, infrastructure and, in more recent years, a growing culture of pyro. Before Government decides to vilify League of Ireland supports ever again, it should practise what it preaches and update its own code of practice for safety at sports ground into this millennium. We all want safer stadium facilities. We want places where players young and old can play and thrive. The game is growing and attendances and support are growing. Overall last year, in competitions featuring League of Ireland teams, there was an 11.7% rise in spectators with a total of 1.1 million attending games. They achieved all this despite being underfunded.”
“I have attended many of these myself, so I know at first hand the conscious efforts made to try to curtail this growing culture. The League of Ireland men's Premier Division clubs collectively spent over €2.7 million last year in safety and security for their games. This is a significant spend and highlights the fact that all clubs take safety and security very seriously. The Government, by its own track record, does not and it has little or no interest in investment in infrastructure to aid clubs or the League of Ireland in their endeavours. The Government's only interest sparked was an opportunity for a Minister to make himself relevant in a sport that one week did not know who he was to its supporters the following week displaying banners at matches telling him not so politely where to go.”
“However, instead of jumping for the sake of headlines, I remain steadfast in my commitment to working with the league and other stakeholders to try to strengthen our resolve against this mindless behaviour. Government, on the other hand, has done nothing for decades to tackle this problem. The FAI and the League of Ireland office in particular have a long history of working with clubs to highlight the dangers of pyrotechnics and making sure stadiums are safe. This is made increasingly difficult by the poor infrastructure and lack of support from successive governments, including this one. From 2013 right up to this year, the League of Ireland has run a series of education and awareness events supported by An Garda Síochána.”
“I tell the Minister of State here now, and I hope the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, is watching from wherever is more important to him this evening, I am a League of Ireland fan all my life and I am not a plague on anybody's house. My family hails from deep in League of Ireland history and none of them are plagues on anybody's houses. Neither are all the good people and volunteers who keep the League of Ireland clubs running in spite of decades of underfunding from this and previous governments. Sadly, pyro is not a new problem for our league and it has posed challenges across the board in recent years for both the FAI and clubs to individually try to curtail. As somebody who has volunteered in a club for many years, I can attest to the challenges all clubs have in trying to make their grounds more secure.”
“As the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, who is responsible for sport, confirmed, he was not made aware of this and stated here in the Chamber that he did not agree with it. Not only did the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, succeed in vilifying the many great supporters of the League of Ireland for the actions of a few, he also succeeded in undermining his colleague in his capacity as Minister of State for sport. I have never condoned the use of pyro or flares at matches. Any right-minded football supporter at the League of Ireland would strongly condemn what happened in Oriel Park, and so do I. There is no justification for any damage to facilities, particularly when investment in infrastructure is sparse and hard won.”
“The Minister had to utilise Google Maps to even find his way to a League of Ireland ground to open the new AstroTurf pitch in Oriel Park and to watch the highly anticipated live derby between Drogheda and Dundalk. The Minister posted a video that showed fan's pyrotechnics prior to kick-off to highlight what a great occasion it was. That video clearly showing pyro is still in his social media today. It was all fun and games until it was not. Is it any wonder he is a gift to Waterford Whispers News ? Regrettably, the new pitch was damaged by significant scorch marks caused by a small minority of fans throwing flares onto the pitch, which Drogheda United paid to repair in full. The Minister's response was to mete out collective punishment by announcing a pause in all AstroTurf funding for League of Ireland clubs.”
“If we want the League of Ireland stadiums to be adequate for use and safe for fans, we need to back the FAI's facilities and infrastructure vision and strategy. No one expects anything to happen overnight - that plan is a 15-year investment plan to address chronic underinvestment in Irish football - but sufficient investment has to start now. That is the positive outlook for the future of football but it is not the reason for these statements today. We are here solely as a consequence of the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan's public denigration of the League of Ireland and its fans in recent weeks. His solo run, plague upon all their houses, collective punishment, sneering and classist approach to the League of Ireland after the Dundalk versus Drogheda match was utterly shameful.”
“Their own real concern has been where to show up for a photograph when the senior men's national team is performing well. Government TDs could all probably name the men's team from the World Cup in the USA in 1994 but I have every confidence most on Government benches would struggle to name many of the players in the current senior women's national team. Roy Keane was good but, by God, he is no Katie McCabe. If Ireland is ever going to have success on the international stage, we need to support every local team and every local community from the small team format at under six and seven right through to senior men's and women's teams in the League of Ireland. If we want the League of Ireland to be competitive and, very importantly, self-financing, then we need to support the FAI's carefully put together plans.”
“I sincerely welcome these statements on football as an opportunity to talk about the sport I have always, and will always, love. Some of my fondest memories are of growing up in the terraces among the fans, come hail, rain or shine, supporting our home team of Drogheda United through the good times and the bad. If the emotion and love of football supporters - League of Ireland supporters, crucially - have for their teams was manifested in infrastructure, we would have more than 20 state-of-the-art stadiums around the country, an adequate academy structure and enough community football pitches for the hundreds of grassroots teams and the tens of thousands of girls, boys, women and men who play. However, this Government and every Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael government prior to it have never adequately supported Irish football.”
“I am unapologetic for not accepting second best for workers, families and all the services the Government has left behind in its clamour to cling to power. I am unapologetic in voting no confidence in the Government because I know whose side I am on, and that is that of the people of this country. The Government may live to survive another day in this Chamber, but out there where it matters, its time is up. It has lost the confidence of the people.”
“Incredibly, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage issued a circular on 10 April telling the fire services not to automatically roll out with the ambulance services as per normal due to rising fuel costs. They are instructed not to conduct training unless it is essential and to only perform essential checks on their fire tenders. In all the back-slapping I listened to today from Government, it forgot to mention to the people of this country all of those people in services it had left behind, many of them crucial in their own ways and some even life-saving. The Government's failure to act has crossed a line with the people and there is no going back. It knows that itself deep down because its backbenchers have been in hiding for the past week.”
“Private bus and coach operators that are not contracted to Bus Éireann are feeling the pressure and watch on as those with State contracts only receive cuts and rebates. Some of them are sitting in the Gallery as I speak this evening, so worried about the longevity of their livelihoods that they are still watching this debate. Home help carers and disability workers on the road from morning to night performing an essential role in every city, town, village and townland in this country have been left behind. How long before we hear of them being told to modify their travel or cut back somewhere due to the ever-rising fuel costs?”
“How much noise needs to be made before the Government snaps out of its slumber and legislates for all of the people affected by the huge fuel price increases? It has selective hearing, sight and amnesia. It has selectively chosen who is to receive the most minimal cuts to fuel costs in some sectors while the general public and those in many industries who have to be on the road daily are forgotten. Was the Minister of State nice and warm when he woke up in his house this morning? I will tell him who were not: the people who rely on home heating oil and have to choose between heating and eating. What has the Government done for them? Nothing that makes a single iota of a difference.”
“That is 67 people who faced serious delays in Drogheda for chemo in 2025. Around the country hundreds are left waiting as hospitals miss their targets to start chemo, and it is just unacceptable. Behind all these figures are hundreds of people who are sick with worry, facing delay after delay, trying to cope with the fear that their cancer is progressing while they wait. The staff in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital and the patients behind all these statistics deserve better. We ask the Government to do its job, support this Private Members' business and action everything in it. The very fact that all of this has to be spelled out to the Government is utterly shameful.”
“We have the Gary Kelly support centre, Cara Cancer Support Centre and the North East Cancer Research and Education Trust, all of which are vital and all of which have to constantly fundraise to keep the lights on and the doors open. Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital Drogheda is a major centre for cancer care in the north east. It is clear that despite the tireless and fantastic work done by the front-line staff day in and day out the length and breadth of this country, this Government is failing them and the cancer patients they treat when it comes to accessing treatment. People in Drogheda have to wait longer for access to chemotherapy than people in most other places in the country. Out of 25 hospitals providing chemotherapy, Drogheda ranks 16th, with 17% of people not getting their chemo within the target timeframe of 15 working days.”
“As we have just had Daffodil Day, I feel we must mention the Irish Cancer Society here. Every one of us knows somebody who has battled cancer, and with one in two people in Ireland affected, this cause sadly touches us all. The Irish Cancer Society provides significant support for cancer patients and their families in County Louth, with services witnessing higher demand throughout 2025. With only 5% of annual funds needed each year coming through State funding, it is vital that we support this organisation where we can. In Louth we have many other phenomenal groups also supporting cancer patients and their families.”
“In 2016, the Government clearly agreed with this when its new Bill rightly ensured that fully fitted kitchens and dining spaces were included in the plans. Its model, which was lauded as best practice for school meals at the time by Fianna Fáil Ministers, must now be facilitated within the new hot school meals programme. The funding must be provided without delay and, more importantly, the school needs to be given clarity. Will the Taoiseach ask the Minister to at least visit this school and see the model at work at first hand, and allay the concerns of the principal and the wider community?”
“I would like the Government to urgently address a serious situation facing a primary school in my constituency that has the potential to impact hundreds of children and families. Despite providing the first breakfast club of its kind in the State, St. Paul's National School is hugely concerned that because it does not fit the new model for school meals, it is at risk of losing this vital service. Its funding is in limbo. It has sought clarity from the Department to no avail. I have raised this privately with the Minister, Deputy Calleary, and have not yet received a response. This school is at the heart of a proud community in Drogheda that has felt the brunt of organised crime feuds. Its breakfast club, school meals and canteen are lifeline to many.”
“The Bill's focus on audience measurement systems with a view to improving transparency and reliability is welcome. This will also be worth scrutinising further on Committee Stage. The requirement for Coimisiún na Meán to co-operate and to encourage the adoption of codes of conduct by industry to promote transparency around audience measurement systems may not provide the teeth required to ensure true accuracy and transparency. I look forward to looking at this Bill further on Committee State. I welcome the fact that areas of concern regarding media ownership concentration flagged by Sinn Féin over a decade ago will now be legislated for. It is well past time.”
“The Government delayed answering questions asked under the Freedom of Information Act for several weeks before releasing the documents on the day of the referendum to repeal the eighth amendment, hoping to bury the news. We in Sinn Féin tabled a Private Member's motion seeking the immediate disbandment of the SCU, this so-called spin unit. This controversy caused the Government's strategic communications unit to be disbanded mere months after it was established. We can therefore see why some parties have been reticent to introduce legislation in this House to tackle the issue without EU direction. It is welcome that Coimisiún na Meán will now have responsibility in this area but, as I said earlier, I hope it makes use of the new tools in its toolkit.”
“I sincerely welcome this. State advertising in many small media outlets and regional newspapers during the Covid pandemic shutdown was helpful but in no way did it cover their losses. It may not have gone far enough in that time of crisis but at least some effort was made and that is to be acknowledged. Some political parties have been caught out misusing State advertising. In 2018, the new Government strategic communications unit paid for adverts to promote the Project Ireland 2040 national development plan. This was widely criticised. The Times in the UK reported that the editors of several regional newspapers were told to present the advertorials like news content. These ads often featured TDs and councillors.”
“Of the top four print groups, Mediahuis has 38% of the readership, the Irish Times Group has 26%, Reach plc has 15% and News Corp has 12%. Together, they control 91% of the national print audience. The concentration in radio is flagged as high, that in media as medium to high and that in online media as concentrated. I would like to see an assessment of our current media companies and what may be considered an existing monopoly and to examine how Coimisiún na Meán deals with it. The need for this will be known when Coimisiún na Meán develops a national media ownership database, as it is required to do under this Bill. The Bill will also impose transparency on public authorities and entities. They will be obliged to publish information on the total amount spent on advertising and the amount spent with individual media providers.”
“All of those provisions of Article 22 of the European Media Freedom Act, which this Bill will give full effect to, relating to media mergers and the assessment of media market concentration are very welcome. The 2016 report on the concentration of media ownership in Ireland and more recent reports on media ownership in Ireland all highlight the same issues. A report on high ownership concentration posing significant risks to pluralism states that our market is dominated by State-owned RTÉ on radio and TV, by Mediahuis in print and by Bauer Media in commercial radio, with significant foreign ownership. Key concerns include the lack of specific statutory ownership limits and high cross-media consolidation. The ownership of print media is flagged as being very high. Denis O'Brien sold Independent News and Media to Mediahuis in 2019.”
“I hope that, with this legislation, we will stave off a Rupert Murdoch-type media dominance subsuming the Irish market. His politically right wing-leaning global media empire made him a kingmaker from the US to the UK. To quote a CNN article published when he was stepping down in 2023: Through a hazardous cocktail of mis- and disinformation, conspiracy theories, and outright propaganda, Murdoch profited off of fear and division with little apparent regard for warping the public discourse, disfiguring American politics, and imperiling Western democracy. That is what we must guard against. That is why it is essential we have powers here in Ireland to guard against that type of monopoly. There are powers here that should be utilised. We need not refer everything to the EU when complex decisions arise in the future.”
“That report said that Ireland has one of the most concentrated media markets of any democracy and that "It is now imperative that urgent action is taken, and seen to be taken, to reassure journalists, media organisations and the wider public". This Government, which has been in power in one form or another since 2011, has done little to address this. It was flagged back then that having such a high concentration of media ownership in the Irish market threatens media plurality and undermines the media's ability to perform its watchdog function. That it is why it is important that we move this Bill along and also try to strengthen it in areas where it may be lacking, perhaps through provisions allowing existing monopolies to be broken up.”
“I hope it will choose to utilise these tools when necessary and not refer cases back to the EU to investigate, as it has done with X and Grok, rather than using the measures provided for nationally under the recent online safety framework. Laws, rules and regulations are worthless unless they are enforced by the appropriate statutory body. I think we would all agree there is no point in giving somebody a new car unless they are going to drive it. Almost ten years ago, Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan commissioned a report on the concentration of media ownership in Ireland, highlighting the high risk associated with Irish media ownership due to the influence of figures like Denis O'Brien.”
“We in Sinn Féin see no reason to oppose this Bill. We look forward to its progression to Committee Stage. It would address many of the issues this party has raised over the years regarding media ownership and independence. We may seek to submit amendments on matters on which we believe the Bill is not strong enough, but I am sure engagement on that would be welcomed. The parent legislation of the Bill we are discussing today is the European Media Freedom Act. Were it not for the EU pushing this legislation, the Government would be happy to continue sitting on its hands. The positive is that this Bill will put more tools in Coimisiún na Meán's toolkit.”
“The Data Protection Commissioner has issued over €4 billion in fines over the past five years to these companies, including €530 million in the past year alone. It has, however, only collected 0.6% of these fines. That needs to be addressed. I ask the Minister to stop waiting for the EU to make the tough decisions for him. We have an opportunity here and now, as a collective, to introduce legislation that will address a big problem that is affecting people who live in Ireland. We need to do our jobs, as Irish legislators, and pass legislation for Ireland.”
“In 2024, Coimisiún na Meán said that while it recognises that recommender systems can have harmful impacts on users, especially children, it would be best to be able to tackle the potential dangers of these systems through its implementation of the Digital Services Act. Can anyone in government honestly say that this has happened, or that, in reality, these toxic algorithms have been tackled? They have not. Study after study has shown the effects of that. That is why a Bill like this is necessary now. It is needed to stop the toxic echo chambers that are warping people's perception of reality. It is that simple. We have seen other gaps in legislation on online safety in recent months that need to be plugged. I commend anybody who brings a measure forward in an endeavour to do that.”
“Their algorithms, as they currently are, push this on users regardless of age. I am disappointed the Government has tabled an amendment to the Bill to stop it from going forward. The Minister's assertion that what the Bill seeks to address is being addressed by Coimisiún na Meán, as Ireland's independent safety and media regulator, through its implementation of Ireland's online safety framework, together with the European Union, is not accurate. The online safety framework page only mentions transparency around algorithms. Two years ago, there was widespread dismay that toxic algorithms are not covered by the online safety code.”
“These videos are in breach of YouTube's own policies, yet they were still there. In 2024, Dublin City University's anti-bullying centre showed that the recommender algorithms used by social media platforms were rapidly amplifying misogynistic and male supremacist content. In the UK and Australia, a joint study found that these algorithm feedback loops could intensify feelings of guilt, comparison and obsession around food and appearance. Research in the US found that people's daily interactions with online algorithms affect how they learn from others, with negative consequences, including social misperceptions, conflict and the spread of misinformation. What we take from that is that, when assessed, the platforms are failing. They allow harmful content, suicidal ideation and harmful eating disorder content.”
“Social media companies are living in their own reality. Maybe their research and assertions are being driven by their own recommender algorithms, or maybe they have built a confirmation bias into those algorithms so they think they are always right. Whatever the case may be, they are divorced from reality. When assessed independently, they fail. Researchers have done tests on TikTok and YouTube. One case that I referenced at a committee hearing is a simulated account of a 13-year-old who watched one video containing eating disorder content. Afterwards, analysis of the results of 1,000 video recommendations by YouTube found that over one third were for harmful eating disorder content, including videos endorsing extreme calorie restriction and promoting dangerous diets like anorexia boot camp.”
“At a recent committee hearing, Meta, Google and TikTok attended, and X declined to attend. All three attendees’ opening statements made assertions that their priorities were online safety, data protection and child and user welfare. They also stated that they can remove reported posts within hours. Their assertions do not marry with the testimony given by witnesses at the recent hearings on online safety. At those hearings, broadcaster Gráinne Seoige, An Garda Síochána, Media Literacy Ireland, the Hope and Courage Collective, the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, CyberSafeKids and the Children's Rights Alliance gave detailed testimony on how the social media platforms were failing in their responsibilities. When the testimony from those contributors was put to the social media companies, they disputed that there were widespread problems.”
“I welcome the intention of this Bill, which clearly aims to protect children from harm, and I commend People Before Profit on bringing it forward. We will support this Bill through to the next Stages, but we may work with People Before Profit on some amendments to it. We have been examining algorithms at several Oireachtas committees, including the Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Culture, Communications and Sport. The expert opinion given at those committees should feed into this Bill, add some detail and shape the final legislation. As with every other aspect of online safety, I will always be guided by the expert advice when it comes to algorithms, not by self-serving lobbies, not by big tech and not by assertions made by social media platforms that fly in the face of reality.”
“That is brilliant. It is very welcome news. I appreciate that. If it is relatively on time and on budget, that is great news to all of the sporting organisations the length and breadth of the country that will use it. The only thing I ask is that there be a test run beforehand to ensure all of the bugs are ironed out so that it does not pose any difficulties to any applications that come through on it, but it is brilliant news.”
“Some of the bigger national governing bodies with experienced, qualified staff are also finding it difficult. That is the urgency on it. If it is ready this summer, that is well and good, but I am not the only person who is keen to see that come before the next round of funding opens.”
“It is now March. When I asked a question on this last June, the response I received was that we would have a fully developed online customer portal and an administrative case management system in March 2026. I appreciate that the Minister of State said it is coming very soon, but the urgency on this was for it to be up and running before the new round of the CSFF opens and for that to be able to facilitate an ease of application and an easy navigation portal for those using it. I have travelled around the country, as has the Minister of State, meeting sporting organisations and the one thing that comes up time and again is the arduous application process and the system being hard to navigate, particularly for voluntary-led organisations but is not just the voluntary organisations that are finding it difficult.”
“Will the Minister of State give an update on the delivery of the new ICT system to replace the existing sports capital programme grant management system and outline the total spend on the project and where it is at?”
“They feel it will further isolate marginalised teens such as those living in emergency accommodation. They feel that with us living in a technological age, if we are excluding youths at that age, they will not be prepared for what the digital age will be like when they reach the allowed age.”
“One thing the Minister and I do agree on is encouraging the safety of our youth online. Our preference is to have a safe, well-regulated online world for our teens, where social media companies are held to account for what is on their platforms, which can be done by Ireland's online safety framework, and where bad actors online are removed from platforms and face repercussions. What I do have concerns about is an outright ban for under-16s, and I will tell the Minister why. It is unenforceable as teens are simply well ahead of us in the technological age and they will use virtual private networks, VPNs, to circumvent the blocks. This concern is shared by CyberSafeKids, the Children's Rights Alliance and other experts in the field that have been before the committee week after week in recent months and have all shared that concern.”
“There has been a lot of kite-flying, there has been a lot of media coverage and what we seem to have now is an ambiguous Government statement about working actively with like-minded EU member states to explore options on introducing age restrictions on the use of social media, concentrating in particular on those under 16. In his response, the Minister said the strategy states that the Government will take action if necessary. I am still unclear as to the concrete pathway on which we are moving forward with this.”
“The Minister will understand our confusion this evening. According to media reports, he was blindsided by the Government's announcement of the national digital and AI strategy 2030 last week. Just the day before that announcement, media sources were briefed that the under-16s' social media ban had been approved and that the strategy would be rolled out the following day. The media further stated that the Minister was surprised by the plan to work at EU level and that he was not aware of it, despite being the Minister responsible. We are really just looking for a bit of clarity here, after months of press statements starting in May of last year when the Tánaiste announced the Government was looking at copying the Australian model that banned all under-16s from social media.”
“The Government's response is to do something, if anything, but not the right thing. To begin to solve this crisis the Government needs to immediately increase the number of GP trainee entrants from 350 to 450 and support the Irish College of General Practitioners to expedite training, where appropriate. We need to increase training places across medical, nursing and allied health and social care professions, lift the recruitment cap for front-line roles and double the recruitment target for 2024 to expand the multidisciplinary, primary and enhanced community care teams. The solutions are there but, unfortunately, the do-nothing approach by successive Governments is having a detrimental impact on people's lives.”
“Because people cannot access a GP, we have seen several calls in recent months from the management of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda for the public to avoid emergency departments unless absolutely necessary due to the severe overcrowding and, in some cases, extremely high patient numbers. What a great country we have when we cannot provide timely medical care. The ratio of GPs to population is estimated at seven per 10,000, which indicates slow progress. As outlined by my colleagues, the number of actively practising GPs is falling year on year. It is estimated that one in four of these doctors is over 60 years of age, which poses a huge problem coming down the tracks. It is just not good enough. Consistently, in our annual alternative budgets, Sinn Féin has offered costed solutions to all of these issues.”