Johnny Mythen
Wexford · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“Using data sets that use artists' works without their consent or authorisation to train large language models is not a fair use as claimed by many of these generative AI platforms. We would like to see regulation that mandates these platforms and organisations to ensure synthetic text generated by LLMs is watermarked and thus detectable.”
“I welcome this motion and thank my colleague, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh, for tabling it at this important juncture in the era of generative AI.”
“This motion calls for the Government to use its influence in our Presidency of the European Council to force attention on the protection of copyright of artists from generative AI. State funding for art must not be used to fund or spent on generative AI artifacts that use artists' creative works without their consent.”
“The primary care service operators in County Wexford are creaking at the knees. Occupational therapists, OTs, in the community health organisation, CHO, 5 south-east area are burned out and under enormous pressure due to the current workload from a long list of clients waiting for appointments and treatment.”
“Will the Tánaiste investigate these unacceptable delays and seek an explanation as to why this is happening? These are children who require an immediate intervention. The longer the delay, the more they will regress. The sooner the treatment starts, the sooner they will progress.”
“Providers themselves are under severe pressure, with many folding and others barely hanging on. That is why core funding supports must be reviewed to reflect what is happening on the ground.”
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“This motion calls for the Government to use its influence in our Presidency of the European Council to force attention on the protection of copyright of artists from generative AI. State funding for art must not be used to fund or spent on generative AI artifacts that use artists' creative works without their consent. The symbol of our country is the harp. The symbol of culture is resilience. The motto for my own county, Wexford, is that it shall be restrung and reheard. It is now time to hear the voice of our artists, to come to their defence, and to stand up to protect their rights and livelihoods before we lose them to generative AI machines forever. I ask all TDs to support this motion.”
“Using data sets that use artists' works without their consent or authorisation to train large language models is not a fair use as claimed by many of these generative AI platforms. We would like to see regulation that mandates these platforms and organisations to ensure synthetic text generated by LLMs is watermarked and thus detectable. Compensation and remuneration must be included in this equation for all Irish artists. The burning question to be answered here is who owns the intellectual property created by AI, especially when that same intellectual property is plagiarised from artists and used to train these large language models and other AI models. These models produce systems with text, video, voice and music inputs and outputs, making billions from other people's genius and creativity.”
“I welcome this motion and thank my colleague, Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh, for tabling it at this important juncture in the era of generative AI. This motion sets out the bare parameters to protect our artists in their struggle to earn a living through their creativity, culture and to safeguard a human connection that they share with the rest of humanity, and indeed the unique and special place they hold among the people of Ireland. These are the fundamental issues that we must address as a nation. The right of consent must be embedded in domestic legislation. Content creators must give full consent before their material can be used for generative AI models. The right of refusal must be covered too.”
“Will the Tánaiste investigate these unacceptable delays and seek an explanation as to why this is happening? These are children who require an immediate intervention. The longer the delay, the more they will regress. The sooner the treatment starts, the sooner they will progress.”
“The primary care service operators in County Wexford are creaking at the knees. Occupational therapists, OTs, in the community health organisation, CHO, 5 south-east area are burned out and under enormous pressure due to the current workload from a long list of clients waiting for appointments and treatment. The integrated health area, IHA, in County Wexford has a total of 1,643 children on waiting lists, almost double that of any other area. There are 132 children aged five or under waiting over 12 months, while 434 five- to 17-year-olds have been on the list for over two years. Nineteen five-year-olds, along with 305 17-year-olds, have been waiting for over three years. The list goes on. There are 252 children, to be exact, waiting on primary care occupational therapy services for between four and five years in total.”
“Childcare at €200 per month must be introduced and core funding needs a full overhaul. If proper funding for childcare services is not put in place now, society and the economy will suffer. Childcare must come first, public good must come first and I ask all TDs to support this motion.”
“Providers themselves are under severe pressure, with many folding and others barely hanging on. That is why core funding supports must be reviewed to reflect what is happening on the ground. There are up to 50,000 children on childcare waiting lists, and staff shortages are having an enormous effect on room closures and administration systems, such as rotas and holidays being disrupted, mainly due to low pay. Rural childcare services also play a vital part in rural communities. Those involved personally know the children and their families, and some have been operating for over 20 years, but many are pulling out of the core funding. In fact, childcare providers in the Dáil last week stated that in September, 996 services would be closing and that, by the end of the year, that will reach 1,500. That is a lot of families with nowhere to go.”
“Childcare is a cornerstone of society. It promotes and nourishes child well-being, gender equality and a sustainable work-family balance. Not many institutions or organisations can claim that. They are the backbone of our economy. If they do not operate tomorrow morning, the economy would collapse and half the workforce would not be able to go to work, yet childcare services are coming under enormous financial and structural pressure. In most parts of the country, childcare costs are in excess of €800 per month, and in major cities, costs are reaching well over €1,200. Parents and guardians are at their tether, effectively paying a second mortgage for childcare services. Early childcare educators are poorly paid, with staff with bachelor's degrees at levels 7 and 8 not receiving proper pay in recognition of their qualifications.”
“This is why we in Sinn Féin are calling for a total overhaul of our current dental system, which is completely out of date, and a legal framework for dental practices. Every man, woman and child should have access to a dentist if they need one. A major reform of our dental care system must happen because the current one is creating a two-tier operation that is only serving those who can afford it and those who have expensive medical insurance, while the majority of citizens are left to wait for years for treatment. This is wrong and something must change.”
“This is causing major financial hardship for working families and people with disabilities, especially those who require an anaesthetic. This type of treatment costs a small fortune. Many families have to borrow from their local credit union for dental treatment. This is wrong. The recommendations of the Dental Council of Ireland should be implemented and a new dental Act should replace the outdated 1985 Act. A workforce plan must be implemented and more places must be made available for our young trainee dentists. Sinn Féin is also calling for a digitalisation of data for special care patients and patients with intellectual disabilities to ensure transparency and accountability. We have an ageing population. It is not rocket science. It is a global fact that people will have problems with their teeth and oral health as they grow older.”
“This motion calls for major reform of dental care in Ireland because the current system is systematically broken. The HSE dental lists are evidence of this, with 11,000 people, most of whom are children, waiting for an appointment. Some 8,000 are waiting more than a year, while 40% of children are waiting more than two years. In fact, we had a well-known and reported case in my own county of Wexford, where a pensioner, Mr. Hayes, pulled out his own teeth because he was in excruciating pain and had tried in vain to get an appointment at several dental practices. This is totally unacceptable in a wealthy, modern country. Only one third of dentists are providing public dental treatment services, and only one tenth of dentists work for the HSE.”
“Will the Taoiseach ask the relevant Departments to consider prioritising the delivery of the coastal protection scheme for Rosslare Strand? Cosmetic repairs will not save this coastal community and its most valuable national tourist attraction.”
“The recent severe storms have dramatically accelerated erosion around our coastline. The coastal erosion at Rosslare Strand has reached a critical level that is endangering the entire community in the area, no more so than at the well-known and well-established tourist destination of Kelly's Resort Hotel, which is a family business that was built up over decades. This is a thriving community that services the entire country. It is a natural beauty spot with easy access to beautiful white beaches. The Coast Protection Act 1963 includes a specific reference to a requirement that Rosslare Strand be maintained "in proper repair and effective condition". Under the Act, once coastal erosion is identified, as is the case right now, the State has a duty to act to protect the coastline.”
“We ask the Minister of State to revisit this plan as it has the potential to lock in our energy sector, effectively locking private tech solutions, including more fossil fuel gases, into our energy grid. This action threatens our public energy legislation that has been in place since the foundation of the State. There should be no unnecessary trade-offs or cost of doing business if it allows mechanisms of backdoor privatisation on our national energy sector.”
“We must have meant governance and tackle the environmental impacts and implications on our own citizens. For example, taxpayers are footing the bill for grid upgrades. Between 2015 and 2023, Irish taxpayers paid €750 million extra for their electricity. We had the second-highest electricity prices in the EU in the second half of 2025. We also have more than 500,000 people in gas and electricity arrears. On 1 July, we will see the price of domestic electricity and gas units increase by 9.5% per unit. At present, domestic units are charged at roughly 36.8 cent per kilowatt while data centres' prices are 19.1 cents per kilowatt. The Government's amendment refers to its large energy user plan.”
“I too congratulate the Minister of State on her appointment. I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward the motion. I am a member of the Oireachtas committee on AI. We have listened to many academic and expert contributions concerning data centres, energy and climate change. As stated, 22% of our electricity is consumed by data centres. The country coming anywhere close to this is Singapore. To put this into context as it stands, this is an unprecedented percentage per capita in a developed economy. The Minister of State must also be aware that EirGrid has already acknowledged it will be a challenging position to keep supply to these data centres until 2028 and will likely stretch beyond that. We in Sinn Féin challenge the Government's postcolonial strategy specifically on industrialisation by invitation.”
“This is time to say "No" to genocide, "No" to oppression and "No" to apartheid. This is time to stand with the downtrodden and the oppressed. Sanctions of goods and services do matter because they force the perpetrators of this abhorrent regime to justify themselves in the eyes of the world. The Government has the chance to shine that beacon of truth and to stand with the likes of Spain and include services in the Bill. We all will be asked by history where we were when all this was happening.”
“We have to make a stand and one that matters. Services are where the money is. The only thing that will have any effect at all is to sanction services such as shipping, finances and tourism. Let us imagine a family who lived in the West Bank for over 80 years and who were forced out of their homes by Israeli settlers. Now, that same home is being rented out through Airbnb as a sun destination for tourists, yet that family are exiled and can never return to their ancestral home. We, of all people, know that history. We have suffered centuries of foreign military and colonial occupation, yet managed to protect our national integrity and self-determination. We all believe in freedom and justice as the fundamental principles of international law. This is not a time to lower the bar. In fact, it is rather the opposite.”
“Everyone understands the definition of genocide, the definition of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories and the definition of enforced apartheid. Everyone also understands the definition of goods and services and what that exactly entails. Most countries in the world, as a rule of thumb, trade on the basis of 70% services and 30% of goods, which roughly equates to our trading position with Israel. If the Government is committed to upholding international law and international human rights, surely, as a small nation whose foundations are based on the very principles of liberty, equality and justice, we have a duty to stop individuals and companies profiteering from goods and services from the occupied Israeli settlements. We know that without the inclusion of services, this Bill will have a minimal effect.”
“We cannot continue to allow these energy companies to dictate and rip off the country by setting prices that are putting workers to the pin of their collars and driving masses of people into more debt. Sinn Féin asks all TDs to support the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2026.”
“How many times must the Government be told by Eurostat and the ESRI that energy prices are the highest in the European Union? This was before the illegal war started in Iran and Lebanon. Householders are paying double the generation costs and ten times the network costs of data centres. How can this be justified? How could the Government cut energy credits during a cost-of-living crisis with over 300,000 households in energy debt? I am sure more will follow when the figures are published in the next quarter. Sinn Féin is calling on the Government to act to back the workers of this country, to back the grannies and grandads, and to introduce a windfall tax on these energy companies to shield the most vulnerable in society and give the people the break that they deserve.”
“I thank Deputy Pa Daly and my colleagues for bringing forward the Electricity Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2026. It is to monitor and regulate hedging practices, monitor anti-competitive behaviour, and force energy companies to provide data on pricing strategies to the regulator. It also provides legislation to regulate standing charges through the regulator. The current power of the CRU is minimal, to say the least. As someone said, it is like a dog with no teeth. Its public enforcement action is weak and limited. Energy companies need to be held to proper account. These companies are making millions upon millions of euro on an annual basis. Every time energy costs increase, so does the cost of living from food to clothing to services. This gouging is damaging lives and our economy. They must be regulated through legislation.”
“I ask the Taoiseach to consider increasing the core funding of €180,000 per family resource unit to a minimum of €255,000 in the October budget. This would be a targeted but urgent investment in strengthening communities, particularly in rural and disadvantaged areas.”
“I would like to raise with the Taoiseach the issue of increased funding for family resource centres around the country, but in particular those operating within my county of Wexford. The newest family resource centre is within Templeshannon Community and Childcare Centre, Enniscorthy, and is a most welcome addition to the east side of the town. Family resource centres are at the heart of our communities, from providing counselling and therapeutic supports to community inclusion and well-being, to essential front-line prevention and early intervention. However, they are under severe financial pressure. There is a steady growth in demand for their services, including a 51% increase in respect of mental health needs alone.”
“I ask the Tánaiste to contact the CEO and the head of inclusion support services of the NCSE to supply St. Aidan's and St. Senan's primary schools with the requested rationale behind its allocation of SNAs to both schools.”
“I raise an important issue in my constituency. I have been contacted by principals in two of the main schools in my area, namely, St. Aidan's primary school and St. Senan's primary school in Enniscorthy. St. Aidan's school has 861 pupils and St. Senan's has 435 pupils, operating seven special classes and four special classes, respectively. Both schools have expressed utter dissatisfaction at the unprofessional conduct of the NCSE. Both St. Aidan's and St. Senan's primary schools sought a review and asked for the rationale of the decision prior to their appeal as advised and advocated by the NCSE. They have both contacted the NCSE on numerous occasions for clarification of the rationale behind its initial decisions. Without this information, neither school can support a comprehensive and accurate detailed account to back their appeals.”
“One has to ask why any Government would stall until 2026 to put together a so-called action plan to accept collective bargaining as a right of working people to protect their jobs and conditions. Workers deserve to be treated better. It is they who provide the skills. It is they who keep the wheels of industry turning. The Minister can legislate for the right to collective bargaining now. He can include in any Government contract the right of trade union representatives to access the working place now. He can deliver a living wage now. He can expand remote working rights now. Then again, as Connolly would have said, whose side is the Minister really on? I urge all TDs to support this motion.”
“When we fast forward to today, we find that 75% of companies in Ireland will not indulge in collective bargaining with trade unions. In fact, the practice of union busting is rampant. The irony is those same companies often receive public contracts and grants funded by taxpaying workers to the tune of millions. Successive Governments have stood idly by. For years, they played a salient role in denying and voting against legislation to allow workers the right to collective bargaining year after year. Eighty-nine TDs signed a pledge to support collective bargaining, but they are complicit in accepting companies banning access to union representatives to workplaces and the exploitation of 200,000 low-paid workers. The Government's action plan is a knee-jerk response to the European Union directive to increase collective bargaining to 80%.”
“I also wish to welcome the trade unionists who are in the Gallery tonight. I thank Deputies Conway-Walsh and Guirke and the Sinn Féin team for bringing forward this motion. It is a very apt and important motion as we approach 1 May, which is workers’ day around the world, and celebrate trade union week. It is a time when we remind ourselves of the working class struggle when citizens were treated no better than slaves, working themselves to the bone for a few scraps from the rich man’s table to feed their families. In our country, we have working-class heroes such as Connolly and Larkin, to name but two. They knew the true value and power of workers standing together to achieve decent conditions and decent wages.”
“The Government has shown whose needs it is going to prioritise and who it favours. It is not ordinary citizens. Enough is enough. The Government cannot detach itself from the reality that the decision to withdraw energy credits and the failure to deliver an effective cost-of-living package is causing hardship and leading to more people falling into arrears. The reality is people are having to work overtime just to keep up with the cost of living because every week things are getting more expensive. The Government must accept that the most vulnerable people, especially people with disabilities, need an immediate cost-of-living package and a reintroduction of energy credits as an emergency measure.”
“This crisis is putting more people in debt, at risk of poverty and in a state of continued anxiety. Ireland already has the eighth highest electricity prices in Europe. Ireland's crippling energy prices are not inevitable. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have repeatedly ignored, pushed back against and rejected Sinn Féin's and the Opposition's proposals to get prices under some control. They dismissed our calls to overhaul the Government's regressive approach to network charges and the public service obligation levy in order that data centres would have to pay a fair share. Not only have they totally failed to accelerate renewable transition at a pace required, they also continue to prioritise private interests of corporate developers overseas over the interest of people on this island. It does not have to be this way.”
“I thank the Social Democrats for tabling this motion. Many of the measures in the motion align with proposals Sinn Féin has previously brought before this House, including energy credits and supports. At present, the Irish people are facing unprecedented challenges. They are trying to make ends meet in the face of an ever-expanding cost-of-living crisis. Workers and families the length and breadth of the country are being hammered by soaring prices. If it is not rents, student fees, voluntary contributions or insurance, it is energy bills. Households are bracing themselves for a round of energy price hikes, just like the 700,000 households who depend on kerosene to heat their homes. Over 300,000 people are in arrears on their electricity bills, while the number of people who cannot pay gas bills has soared to over 183,000.”
“However, recently released data paints a startling picture: 41% of breast cancer surgeries and 61% of prostate surgeries are not happening within the recommended timeframe. This includes 20% of radiography and 50% of chemotherapy patients who do not start treatment in time. Will the Minister work with us and take on board Sinn Féin's key recommendations in the recently published cancer strategy report by Deputy Cullinane? Cancer has no politics and no boundaries but it can be beaten by putting in place a resilient and robust cancer service for all. The postcode lottery system must be done away with, as must the inequality in the system. Most of all, the wonderful staff who treat our loved ones through the toughest of times deserve a system that fully supports them by providing up-to-date equipment, staff supports and proper capacity.”
“One in two people in our country will be diagnosed with some form of cancer in their lifetime. This is a stark but factual figure. Every one of us in this House, unfortunately, knows someone who has had this awful disease or has died from it, including my own father. I am sure the Minister of State agrees there is a chance to change things with a new cancer strategy, as outlined by our spokesperson on health, Deputy Cullinane. We can put in place a world-class cancer service with properly ring-fenced and sustainable funding on an annual basis, doing away with the unfair postcode lottery to access cancer services. Early diagnosis and early treatment give each person hope and a far better chance of survival and recovery.”
“We can only speculate on how many lives would have been saved over those 27 years if that promise had been honoured in the first place.”
“In the HSE Capital Plan 2026, a new ten-bed specialist community mental health unit has been included in the plan for Wexford, which is more than welcome. Since the closure of St. Senan's acute mental health beds in 2009, Sinn Féin representatives across the county and I have campaigned for their replacement, which was promised by the Minister for Health at that time. In fairness, the Tánaiste visited Wexford last week and stated that the lack of 24-7 psychiatric care in Wexford is a major concern. I come from the old school - if you cannot see it or touch it, then it does not exist. When can the people of Wexford expect to see these 24-7 acute beds in operation? Will it be within a five-year period, a ten-year period, or more?”
“The Minister of State must listen to the fishing industry and the Seafood Ireland Alliance and implement the fishing industry's eight-point plan to avoid the collapse of our country's fishing and marine industries before we sell off enough of Ireland to be but strangers in it.”
“Article 102, the anti-monopoly rule, of the treaty prohibits companies with a dominant position from abusing it to the detriment of competition or consumers. Under the mergers regulation, No. 139/2004, the EU Commissioner can review or block mergers that impede competition and strengthen dominant players in the market. These are some of the tools the Minister of State can and must use to save our fishing and coastal communities. My county of Wexford has many such communities, like those in Wexford Harbour, Kilmore, Rosslare, Slade and Duncannon, which represent hundreds of years of fishing traditions.”
“They bona fide agreements under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. As mentioned before, big five companies are monopolising and making millions from our waters by means of the use of trawlers measuring between 80 m and 145 m in length. Some of these vessels are capable of catching 400 tonnes of fish a day. The companies involved have a combined fleet of approximately 230 of these vessels and roughly 400 subsidiaries worldwide. If that is not market dominance, then nothing is. Surely the Minister of State must have the power to summon the Commissioner, on behalf of the people, to challenge the activities of such oligarchs under the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, Article 101 of which prohibits anti-competitive cartels from fixing market sharing.”
“I know the Minister of State is doing his best, but it does not take a genius to recognise that the fisheries of Ireland have been sold down the swanny. The latest cuts to Irish fishing quotas constitute the straw that will break the camel's back. With a massive cut of 57,000 tonnes, estimated to be valued at €94 million, and an overall loss of €200 million to the industry, how can the fishing sector and small coastal communities survive this huge drop in income and the loss of jobs that will directly follow? Irish fishers need the Government to create a suite of financial supports as a matter of urgency. Why is the Government not mounting a legal challenge to the blocking of the Hague preferences and referring the matter to the European Court of Justice? The Hague preferences agreements have stood for over 50 years.”
“He must rein in the OPW, the relevant Departments and Wexford County Council and get the planning application across the line once and for all and to immediately apply the interim measures. Wexford County Council has completed an interim plan but I understand that it must be agreed on by the Ministers and the OPW. I ask that this be done and be treated as a humanitarian emergency and not be delayed any longer. It is the least the people of Enniscorthy and Wexford deserve after being left unprotected for over 25 years and denied their rights to a proper flood defence scheme.”
“It is only with the luck of God no one was drowned or injured. Thanks and gratitude must go to the units from Slaney Search and Rescue and all the other organisations involved. Planning permission for the Slaney flood relief scheme was turned down because of the freshwater pearl mussel, a fact that is infuriating people. Surely this species can be translocated just like the Dublin Bay oyster. I plead with the Minister of State to act now. Under section 7 of the Arterial Drainage Act 1945, he can approve flood relief works independently of the planning system. Things need to happen and need to happen now. Climate change is not waiting for anybody. As sure as night follows day, flooding will continue and will occur again. The people of Wexford need the Minister of State’s full assurance that he will sort this out.”
“This has occurred 16 times since 2000, not to mention the years in between when the people were put on full flood alert with their homes and businesses threatened again and again. I thank the Minister of State for visiting those homes. I am sure he realises the anguish, the torment, the feelings of desperation and the sleepless nights these people have gone through. Generations have faced the same thing over and over again. They have not got a snowball’s chance in hell of getting insurance. They must replace every stick of furniture, including kitchens, fridges, personal belongings and most of their white goods themselves. Some businesses are facing bills of well over €80,000. This has been going on for decades. The people of Enniscorthy and Wexford will no longer put up with what can only be described as wilful neglect.”
“As the Minister of State is aware, the floods in the south east were the severest in many years. Unfortunately, my hometown of Enniscorthy, along with Bunclody, Bridgetown, Our Lady’s Island, Kilmore, Kilcarberry and Killurin experienced extensive flooding with some roads obliterated altogether. Sixty businesses were affected, some of which have stated they will not open again. Some 35 homes were destroyed by water and contaminated effluent. A local postman told me that he delivered letters to homes where the muck and dirt was up to the letter boxes. Most of these homes are occupied by old-age pensioners. Island Road in Enniscorthy and the quays on both sides of the River Slaney took the brunt of the floods.”
“Under section 7 of the Arterial Drainage Act, he can approve flood relief works independently of the planning system. It is time to deliver for the people of Wexford and my hometown of Enniscorthy. They have had enough. They have been left behind, but no more. In the past, the political will dissipated as soon as the water subsided. This time, the people will rise up and be counted. They will not accept another decade of fear and panic every time there is heavy rainfall. I again ask that the Minister use his power to expedite the flood relief system for the proud and beautiful town of Enniscorthy.”
“Under the Arterial Drainage Act 1945, the Minister has the legal authority to approve a flood relief scheme, even if planning permission was previously refused, provided environmental safeguards are met. An example of this only happened this week with the Government willing to legislate to override planning constraints at Dublin Airport. If the Government can intervene using the powers it already has, then it can intervene in the planning for the flood relief scheme in Enniscorthy, County Wexford. In fact, it is a legal obligation under the 1945 Act to protect communities once a workable environmental compliance scheme is ready. Surely, the freshwater pearl mussel that was the main issue with the scheme in the first place can be translocated, just like the Dublin Bay oyster. I am pleading with the Minister to act now.”
“My hometown of Enniscorthy is in a state of devastation. The people on Island Road on the quays of the River Slaney have experienced awful destruction and major damage to their homes and businesses. This is not the first time; it has happened 16 times since 2000. How can this be allowed to go on for decades? The town needs help and it needs it now. I know the Minister and the Taoiseach visited the town, and I thank the Minister for that, but people are sick to their stomach with statements, promises and platitudes. Granted, remedial works have been promised and plans are being prepared, but why does it take a major catastrophe for anything to happen in this country?”
“This is why we are asking that the Bill be accepted and that Coco's Law be strengthened in order to criminalise non-consensual intimate images and increase the maximum penalties on conviction. I welcome the fact that the Minister is not opposing the Bill.”
“The French have taken action, along with the UK's Ofcom, and have launched an investigation and raided X offices, citing violations of the digital safety Act. X and similar platforms must be constrained from allowing the creation of nudified images of women, children and young girls. Many countries are now calling for the removal of tools that can facilitate the latter. The Government must act. I would like to see action similar to that in France and the UK being taken here. That is why Deputies Máire Devine and Matt Carthy and Sinn Féin put this Bill forward. Coco's Law is a deterrent but needs strengthening. A review of the Act in 2024 stated that 100 cases were prosecuted by the Director of Public Prosecutions between 2021 and 2023. However, more than 1,500 victim reports were made in the same period.”
“The Bill before the House is plain and simple. It amends what is known as Coco's Law. The purpose of the Bill is to clear up a grey area of whether the 2020 Act explicitly covers the creation of intimate images. However, it fails to state that the generation or creation of deepfake sexual images of adults is illegal. This must be remedied immediately. We witnessed the Grok controversy in December and January. Researchers estimated that 6,700 sexually suggestive nudified images were created hourly. These mainly depicted women, children and young girls and represent a violation of sacrosanct human rights. As if that was not bad enough, after a huge backlash, instead of removing such a base tool, X hid Grok behind a paywall rather removing it.”