Patrick O'Donovan
Limerick County · Fine Gael · Ireland
“I agree with the Deputy. If anyone who has experienced any difficulties and has contacted the Deputy, I encourage him to pass any specifics on to me. We want to try to make it work.”
“To go back to a previous question, Coimisiún na Meán is self-financed in terms of the regulation. Regulation costs money and that is why levies are imposed. People do not like that, and the previous Deputy said she did not like it. That is a separate issue, however.”
“Failure by a platform to comply can also lead to significant sanctions. However, the developing nature of digital services requires continuing vigilance. The protection of children and young people in the online world remains of the utmost importance to the Government.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta as ucht an ábhair tábhachtaigh seo a chur os comhair na Dála ar maidin. Ireland's online safety framework includes the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022, the EU Digital Services Act and the online safety code.”
“I do not disagree with the Deputy at all. He gave a good synopsis there as to why the investment in rural broadband is so important. I do not know whether any political party bar my own at the time actually advocated for it, but it has been transformative.”
“It is expected shortly. As I said in my reply, I will bring the report to the Government and then publish it. I do not disagree with anything the Deputy has said. Restitution cannot be a one-way street. We need to see if there is anything in Irish institutions that is connected to, funded by or associated with colonial plundering.”
The complete record
Every one of 684 lines we hold for Patrick O'Donovan, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 14.
“I join the Deputy in saying that it is awfully sad when a provincial newspaper closes. Unfortunately, many of them have closed in recent years. The Deputy knows as well as I do that media platforms have changed. People's connectivity to local papers has changed. National papers are also under enormous pressure. My Department has in recent years responded positively, within the rules laid down for what we can and cannot do in the context of market intervention. We support young reporters and journalists who act as court reporters. We also support newspapers in terms of local democracy so they can attend local area committee meetings in Carrickmacross, Monaghan or wherever else and ensure that council meeting are reported. An awful lot of the local papers are taking that up.”
“Many of the issues that have been raised need to be contained in the county development plans of the respective county councils. They are also matters for the Government.”
“There is a narrative out there that if you are building a one-off house, you are somehow polluting the area. That is not the case. I know exactly the types of houses the Deputy is talking about. Grants were given in the 1970s and 1980s for houses less than a particular square footage. Half of the people in the country were reared in such houses. The Deputy is absolutely right. Some of the houses that are being built at the moment are far too big in terms of their energy consumption. The Minister of State, Deputy Cummins, is on paternity leave at the moment but he will come back to the Deputy on the issue he raised about extensions to the rear of houses and separate units. I will ask him to reply directly to the Deputy.”
“The same happened in Limerick, Waterford and everywhere else. The local authorities built what were called council cottages. In many cases, they were on farms. You gave the council half an acre or an acre. That land was transferred to the council. In return, the council built the house and you rented it and later got the option to buy it back if you were a farmer. If you were not a farmer, the council acquired a site for you. It is a matter for the councils. If they want to do that, there is no reason they cannot. The most important thing they have to do is to put in a proprietary treatment system that will pass a percolation test. I agree with what the Deputy said about younger people especially who want to move back into their into own areas.”
“If a developer comes in, like in the development I referred to a while ago between Abbeyfeale and Duagh, and if there is a technical solution to deal with sewage properly, under licence and inspection by the local authority, I do not see why we cannot do that. The future of our GAA clubs and our small schools will be utterly dependent on whether we can build houses in those areas. It is not out of a lack of desire or people being unable to afford it. A lot of these are returning sons and daughters who want to live in south Kerry or east Limerick, but I agree with the Deputy that the restrictions that are there will have to be looked at.”
“If we are to sustain rural life in counties like ours, the first thing you have to be able to do is flush the toilet, because unless you can flush the toilet, you cannot build a house. You cannot pollute the surface water and you cannot have run-off going into dykes. There are solutions there. Rather than being told at a pre-planning meeting, as I am often told, and I am sure the Deputy is too, that there is no proper solution or there is no way around this, that the soil is too heavy and you cannot possibly sustain a septic tank or a proprietary treatment system like bioCycle, we need to start looking at engineering solutions.”
“There will not be a sewerage scheme at every crossroads in the country, but if developers can bring in their own types of solution, where it is a small scheme under the supervision of the local authority and where they can discharge to surface water with a licence from Kerry County Council or Limerick County Council, I do not see why that cannot be allowed. There would not then be the situation we have seen in Reenard and other places where they have to amalgamate GAA clubs just to put out an under-16 team. The population of County Kerry has gone up dramatically, but it has gone up in places like Tralee, Killarney, Kenmare and the other main population bases.”
“Where there is a safety issue on a road, we have to be very conscious of it, but where there is no apparent reason for a person being denied planning permission, particularly if it is on their own land and if, for instance, they have been renting an apartment in Tralee or Killarney and they now want to move back to Tarbert, Moyvane or wherever, it should be very clear in the county development plan policy in the first instance that such movements should be encouraged. There was a report two weeks ago with regard to the issue - I have responsibility for it - about sports clubs in south Kerry, particularly on the Iveragh Peninsula, depopulation and the demographic changes in the GAA. We will have to address it.”
“I thank Deputy Healy-Rae for raising this. There are more times we agree on things than we disagree. Especially as a neighbour's child, I would like him to think that. On this, I agree with him. If you travel the road from Abbeyfeale to Duagh - I am sure he knows that road very well - there is part of that road in Kerry where there is a very well-developed group of houses with a single entrance out onto a regional road. It is not a national primary or a national secondary road. There is no intensification then or turning movements. That is what the roads engineer in Kerry County Council will tell you because that is what they tell me in Limerick, namely, that wherever there is intensification on a road and turning movements, they worry about people being rear-ended and having crashes, fatalities and so on. I can understand that.”
“If that is the case, it is time to go back and look at this again. With regard to what the Deputy said about the nitrates directive, this is a good week in terms of what the Minister for agriculture has achieved. It is about EU simplification and ensuring a common-sense approach, working with farmers and people who know and love the land and who know their animals better than anybody, so that they can have a manageable way to do this. They are not people who will go out and degrade or destroy the environment. They want to work with the environment because it is what they derive their income from.”
“I omitted to say in my original response that I think the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, was not referring to the ECJ during the week but to the European Court of Human Rights, but I know the point Deputy Fitzmaurice is making, which is the same thing. It is about EU simplification. Whether it is in relation to potable water or being able to flush the toilet, it is taking too long. It is not down to a shortage of money. Anyone would tell you that, in most cases, the delivery of infrastructure now has built into it substantial legal fees. An awful lot of the legal fees are being absorbed by cases being contested in the courts over environmental regulations. Like the Deputy, I do not believe that those regulations were ever designed to be interpreted in such a fashion as to prevent people from getting access to potable water.”
“Many people here do not agree with my analysis or the Deputy's, and that is another problem. If legislation was brought before the Dáil tomorrow in terms of harmonising or simplifying Ireland's interpretation of the habitats directive, I am not so sure that everybody who claims to be on the same side as us would all of a sudden jump to that. Certainly, when it comes to the European institutions, we definitely know that is not the case. In general, the Deputy's point about EU simplification is one that the Minister for agriculture, the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, others and I entirely agree with.”
“Galway City Council was the first agent of the State to use imperative reasons of overriding public interest, IROPI. The Deputy will know exactly what I am talking about. When there is an overriding need for public good, we can, as he said, screen out things that would otherwise not be looked favourably upon in an application. However, that is a long and arduous process and it can be appealed. I agree with the Deputy about our infrastructure, whether it is in the building of a road or a railway or the laying of a water main, such as the one being discussed from north of Limerick to Dublin. All of these things are being objected to by people for spurious reasons, in many cases. The Deputy knows as well as I do that, as soon as someone mentions the Aarhus Convention, they have carte blanche to go the whole way to the Supreme Court.”
“I agree with the Deputy's wider point about EU simplification, and so does the President of the European Commission. One of the hallmarks of the President of the European Commission's contribution to the state of the Union address was the need for the Union to look at EU simplification. I do not believe that it was ever intended that an instrument originally designed to protect the habitats of flora and fauna would be used as an instrument or a method to allow sewage to flow through people's houses, regardless of the town or village where the flood relief scheme was to take place and regardless of whether there was potable water. We all remember back in the 1990s or the early 2000s the situation with the Galway city water scheme.”
“In his intervention, Deputy Fitzmaurice mentioned Lough Funshinagh in County Roscommon. I know that area intimately, unfortunately for all of the wrong reasons. The poor misfortunate people there had to put up with years of torture, for want of a better word, because an attempt by the Office of Public Works and Roscommon County Council to relieve flooding was held up and objected to. As Deputy Fitzmaurice referenced, the habitats directive was the principal instrument. The Minister of State, Deputy Moran, has made huge progress in this area. This will be one of the first Christmases that the people there will at least have pumps running and know that the terrible situation is not going to happen to them on Christmas Day again.”
“I encourage people to allow them the space and the time to do that, particularly at this time of year. All of our towns rely to a massive degree on taxi drivers and hackney drivers for Christmas shopping, Christmas parties and everything else. At the end of the day, I hope we can get a resolution. I am sure that the Minister will be back in the House next week and there will be other opportunities, either in the transport committee or in the Dáil, to raise the matter directly with him.”
“The Deputy will be aware that the NTA is an independent transport regulator of the taxi sector. It is not for the Minister for Transport to intervene in the day-to-day operations of the sector, no more that it is for any Minister who has set up, or has under their remit, a regulatory authority, be it in health, my own Department, justice or wherever. It is not within the ambit or the remit of the line Minister to interfere in the day-to-day operations of the regulatory authority. Based on the information made available to me by the Department of Transport, there is an opportunity today, deoxygenated in many ways, to have a discussion around this between the two parties that are critical of it in the hope that they can arrive at a workable solution.”
“The Minister is on Government business abroad at present, and I am sure that when he returns to the House next week, we will have greater clarity in this regard.”
“I am sure the Deputy will agree that it is important that these discussions be allowed to take place without feeling pressure from anybody, including anybody in the House. The advisory committee on small public service vehicles is an independent body, established under the taxi regulations of 2013. Its primary function is to provide advice to the NTA as the regulator and to the Minister for Transport regarding taxis, hackneys and their drivers. Members of the committee include drivers, operators, representatives of consumer interests, disability interests, local government, An Garda Síochána and the tourism sector. I hope that, after today, we might have a greater degree of clarity.”
“The Minister wrote to the National Transport Authority, NTA, to request clarification on the regulatory position on the Uber fixed-price fare for the information of taxi operators and public reps alike. In the response to his letter, the Minister was advised by the NTA that the charging of a fixed-price fare was in accordance with the applicable regulations. He was also advised that the NTA continued to keep the regulatory model under review. The Minister instructed his senior departmental officials to meet the NTA to discuss the response. Following the meeting, which took place on Tuesday, 9 December, the Minister formally requested the urgent consideration of the matter by the advisory committee on small public service vehicles. That is to take place today.”
“I thank Deputy Coppinger for raising what is an important issue, particularly at this time of year. We should all be cognisant and reminded of the great work taxi drivers and hackney drivers do all over the country in bringing us home safely in communities across the country, particularly when we are all so anxious to ensure that people do not drink and drive. We want people to go out and enjoy themselves and the reliance on night-time economy workers like taxi drivers and hackney drivers is very important. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, is on Government business abroad at present. I agree with the Deputy that no one should be vilified for any approach they take as regards their relationships with either State structures or anything else. I would just like to put that on the record.”
“Indeed, on the day of the opening of the hospital in Limerick, it did a campaign in Limerick to try to encourage people to get the vaccine. I encourage people in the House to get it. I have got it, as I am from a cohort of people who are immunosuppressed and need to get it. I encourage anybody who still has not got the flu vaccine to go out and get it.”
“I do not need to be reminded of my duties to the mid-west. I have been here 15 years, thanks be to God and to the people of County Limerick for returning me. It is a great honour and I work very hard, not only on my national duties, but on my regional and county duties, also. UHL is a concern to all of us and the one thing it does not need is politics. The Deputy is right as regards the flu. We are worried about the amount of people who still have to get the flu vaccine. The vaccine is the best form of protection. There are many people in hospital with the flu - well over three quarters of the people in hospital at present - who are not vaccinated, which is a concern. I use this opportunity to remind people that anyone over 60 or in the age group of two to 17 can get it free, as can healthcare workers. The HSE has done many campaigns.”
“She has already alluded to the fact that A and B will likely continue. There will be more room at Dooradoyle and other units in Ennis and Nenagh will continue to be invested in. The surgical unit up at the Mount is currently well under way and the Bon Secours private hospital is open. Significant investment from the public and private sectors is helping to transform the mid-west. We have also seen significant investment in St. Camillus's, St. Ita's and Croom Orthopaedic Hospital. This is all improving the delivery of healthcare for the mid-west. I am not for one minute saying we are finished; there is further work that needs to be delivered on this. I will come back to the flu question in my next reply.”
“I do not in any way dispute what the Deputy said earlier, but the numbers in UHL are going in the right direction. Today there are 26 people on trolleys. That is 26 too many. Ideally there should be zero, but it is not that long ago that the Deputy and I would remember that number being three, four or five times that amount. Bed capacity is the route to this. I pay tribute to the staff of the hospital, many of whom are my neighbours and Deputy Sheehan's neighbours. They have had to work in appalling conditions over many years while we had to grapple with the fact that there were successive elements of underinvestment. There is substantial investment in UHL, and I am glad the Deputy has recognised it, but there is also an options appraisal. The Minister for Health will bring forward proposals with regard to options A, B and C.”
“The reality is that over the past number of years we have had a substantial deficiency as regards bed capacity in the mid-west that this Government is dealing with. The new 96-bed unit is open. The second 96-bed unit, which Deputy can see himself as he passes, in Dooradoyle is well under way. Planning permission for that was more difficult than we expected. There is an options appraisal, as the Deputy pointed out, that is with the Minister for Health. It is the Minister for Health who will ultimately bring forward proposals with regard to this. The Minister was in Limerick, where she has arrived unannounced. Oftentimes Ministers are criticised for coming to the hospital on an announced basis. She has arrived in on an unannounced basis and has seen first-hand what Deputy Sheehan and I have seen.”
“I thank Deputy Sheehan for raising an issue that is very important to both of us, the current situation in University Hospital Limerick. Deputy Sheehan was at the opening of the 96-bed block with me and others. He would agree that there have been substantial improvements made in University Hospital Limerick over the past number of years. It is starting from a really low base, there is no doubt about it. Our colleague from the mid-west, the former Minister, Alan Kelly, has referred to this on many occasions as well. The reconfiguration of the midwestern hospitals group a number of years ago has left a negative legacy with regard to healthcare provision in the mid-west that several Governments, including the current one, have had to try to unwind and deal with.”
“-----back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance. We are increasing the domiciliary care allowance and, as late as yesterday, one of the Deputy's own party colleagues asked me to hike up the charge for people's Netflix accounts. Had I done that yesterday, Deputy Carthy would be in here today with the same old cant as always, that we are not taxing enough.”
“Time and again Sinn Féin brings up the Government's issues with regard to cost of living. I will put it on the record of the House again because the Deputy has already said something that is clearly not true. We are introducing the largest ever child support benefit. We have introduced-----”
“Sometimes they do it quite well, but they are showing themselves up by trying to shout people down. If they will just listen, Deputy Carthy said a while ago that we have nothing with regard to cost-of-living measures.”
“Deputy Carthy does a good job of pretending he has a monopoly on people's concerns in this country. The one thing he never mentions is the economy or jobs or anything as to where the actual wealth in the country comes from. I think it is something his party is incapable of understanding. The income into this State-----”
“I know the party opposite laid out its proposals with regard to health and social protection and a number of other areas, which did not include everything that the Government included, particularly in the area of social protection for budget 2026, yet it derided the Government for things it did include for social protection. The Taoiseach in his response yesterday outlined that the opportunity still exists for the HSE to engage with the Irish Pharmacy Union, and I expect that engagement to happen.”
“The Taoiseach outlined yesterday that he believed there is still an opportunity for the HSE to engage with the Irish Pharmacy Union over the time ahead to see whether this issue can be further discussed. On the same lines as what the Taoiseach said, that opportunity is there. He outlined why he believes this is important, the importance of the drugs payment scheme and blister packs, and how they have supported people over many years. The reality is that health now has the largest budget it has ever had. There is €27 billion in health for 2026. It is not an insignificant amount of money.”
“The resources the Government has available to it, thanks to the economic growth that has been made available through the financial policies we have pursued, all of which have been objected to by Deputy Carthy and his party, has resulted in us being in a position to invest very heavily in the areas of health and social protection. Last week alone, the most vulnerable in our society saw the Christmas bonus start to be paid out. In his response yesterday, the Taoiseach also acknowledged that for many people, and I have personal experience of this, the dispensing and taking of tablets on a daily basis is something that some people require assistance with. For some people who operate on their own, it can be quite daunting.”
“He gave a substantial answer with regard to what the Government has been doing over the past number of years, particularly in relation to health and social protection for those who are the most vulnerable. He outlined to the House, and I will use the opportunity to spell out again today, the supports the Government is giving to the least well-off and the most vulnerable in our society. He gave a lot of detail on the drugs payment scheme and how it operates. Under that scheme, cardholders and their families only have to pay a maximum of €80 per month for approved prescribed drugs and medicines. This has improved dramatically over the last number of years.”
“I dtosach, ar son mo phairtí, Fine Gael agus ar son an Rialtais, déanaim comhbhrón le clann Paddy Cooney, a cailleadh i rith na seachtaine. He was a former Minister for Justice - I note a flag is at half-mast over the House today - a former TD for Longford-Westmeath and a former Senator. He was a great advocate in the Dáil for the people of Longford and Westmeath and did a huge amount of work to protect our democracy in the face of many people who sought to undermine and subvert it over many years. On behalf of my party and the wider Government, I extend my sympathies to the Cooney family. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam dílis. Ní bheidh a leithéid arís ann. Yesterday, the Taoiseach was asked about the issue Deputy Carthy raised.”
“I am looking forward to working with the Opposition throughout 2026 in what I hope will be a year in which I will be able to bring forward a new Bill, the Screen Ireland Bill.”
“The Government invests very heavily in culture, authors, literature and musicians but does not expect to own the copyright of the books. The investment in the film industry is an investment in the country as well. These films are going all over the world and we reap multitudes of what we are investing in tourism, inward investment and everything else. You cannot buy the type of exposure that we are getting internationally for this. It is a lot of money, but in the scheme of things, based on what all Deputies, including Deputy Boyd Barrett, have said about the successes of Irish film over the last number of years, it is a relatively small amount of money that I want to grow.”
“Not to labour the point, copyright and workers' rights are matters for the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment and section 491, as Deputy Ó Snodaigh said, is a matter in the first instance for the Minister for Finance, but it is my role as Minister for culture to convince the Minister for Finance to widen the role of section 481. In this regard the Department has been quite successful over recent years. Now, at the end of 2025, the Department has begun discussions on the 2027 budget. We have already started to examine the matter. I do not disagree with much of what the Deputies have said. I am aware that Deputy Boyd Barrett's party is called People Before Profit but I do not believe there is anything wrong with films making a profit. The Deputy said we do not get anything back.”
“I do not propose to speak to the amendments other than to say it is my intention to bring a Bill before the House in 2026. This Bill before us is a technical and specific Bill around the aggregate amount of money. I will also be before the committee after Christmas. Deputy Ó Snodaigh and others know I am of a mind, when members of the Opposition bring up issues, to take them on board. I have routinely done that and will again in the future. I look forward to working with the committee after Christmas on that Bill and on the general issue with regard to Screen Ireland and the production of film in Ireland.”
“If there have been issues raised, and I know these are firmly held views both Deputy Ó Snodaigh and Deputy Boyd Barrett have because I would have dealt with them previously on these issues and I do not for one minute discount them, but I know Screen Producers Ireland will take them into consideration. I will draw them to its attention when I meet it next. Organisations representing performers, writers, directors and composers have agreed with producers and published industry interim guidelines for producers, authors and performers in the Irish screen industry. These guidelines cover fair remuneration for them. That is important to put on the record. Both amendments were ruled out of order. A lot of latitude has been provided.”
“Touching on what Deputy Ó Murchú said with regard to gaming, I will also include in the Bill specific references to gaming and animation. The references the Deputies made to section 481 are matters for the Minister for Finance. Notwithstanding that, concerning the issues raised regarding the terms and conditions of employees, the industrial relations machinery of the State, whether it is the WRC or the Labour Court, does not discriminate on the basis of where a person comes from. Those avenues are available to people. I want to be very clear. I have a very good relationship with Screen Producers Ireland and I know it will be watching this debate.”
“It is great to see him back and I hope he is recovering well. Best of luck to him. It is important to point out that the aggregate relates to the amount of money expended since 1980, a 45-year term. It is not that we are hoping to spend this money into the future; it is an aggregate. It is an issue that comes up with a lot of State agencies. It is clunky that they have to keep coming back to the Minister of the day to amend legislation. In this case, it is the Irish Film Board Act 1980. I agree with Deputy Ó Snodaigh and I have plans to bring forward a Screen Ireland Bill at some stage in 2026 to take account of the fact that Screen Ireland bears no relation to what the Irish Film Board was like in 1980. Ireland is a totally different place now.”
“It is important to say that regulation alone will not address all the challenges, nor allow children and young people to derive all the benefits that the online world can bring. We must work to support parents and families to talk about online safety and be aware of the pitfalls. Critically, we must hear the voice of children and young people. Online safety is a whole-of-society issue and a whole-of-government priority, and it will be a focus of mine during our Presidency next year. From a regulatory perspective, we have made good progress but we have a lot more to do.”
“The audiovisual media services directive, which underpins the online safety code, is currently being evaluated. Proposals for its revision will be brought forward by the European Commission in quarter 3 of 2026, during our Presidency. This represents a key opportunity to further develop our online safety framework at a European level. This is important, given that Ireland regulates audiovisual media services for the whole of Europe for platforms established here. It is also important because any national measures must be in compliance with existing European law and, therefore, the audiovisual media services directive is an ideal vehicle for introducing new safety measures. In that context, I have no doubt that one of the main issues to be considered will be the minimum age for social media, grounded in European law.”
“These additional responsibilities are in policy areas led by Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment for the AI Act and by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage for the TTPA and demonstrate the ever-developing cross-cutting nature of the areas of commitments to be undertaken by the commission that are aimed at ensuring a safe online environment. Finally, it is envisaged the commission will take on the functions under the European Media Freedom Act, EMFA, which is being implemented in Ireland through the media regulation Bill in Ireland. I will conclude by saying our online safety framework is relatively recent and the focus now is on implementation to ensure platforms meet their obligations. New challenges are being identified and we must continually develop new responses.”
“The focus will be on media literacy, fact-checking and research initiatives to support relevant actions in the strategy. The area of online safety is an ever-changing one. On its establishment in March 2023 Coimisiún na Meán replaced the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and since then its remit has expanded and continues to grow. In addition to regulating broadcasting and on demand media services and leading on Ireland’s online safety framework, the commission has been designated as a fundamental rights authority and will be a market surveillance authority in respect of certain of the prohibited practices under the EU Artificial Intelligence Act. It has also been designated as a competent authority supervising online platforms under the EU regulation for transparency and targeting of political advertising, TTPA.”
“The right to freedom of expression must always be balanced with the right to privacy and the right not to be discriminated against. That is why it is important to say the strategy does not set out to decide what is or is not disinformation and is clear it is not the role of the government or regulators to decide on individual instances of disinformation. The strategy sets out to co-ordinate national efforts in the fight against disinformation, with the intention of limiting the creation and spreading of false, misleading and harmful material. One of its fundamental aims is to promote resilience in people to support media literacy and promote high-quality journalism to help people make their own decisions about what is or is not disinformation. To support this, I secured €1.1 million in budget 2026 to fund the implementation.”
“We have seen the corrosive effects of propaganda and false narratives over the centuries. What is new is how easily the mistruths can be produced, how sophisticated and convincing they are and how they can be amplified and circulated at astonishing speed. The problem has, however, been turbocharged by technology. The rate at which technology is evolving means the problem of disinformation is dynamic and we must strive to match this dynamism with steps to counter it. Our efforts to tackle this problem must not and cannot come at the expense of our right to freedom of expression, which is enshrined in Bunreacht na hÉireann. Nevertheless, with rights come responsibilities and it is incumbent on us all to respect the rights of others while exercising our own.”
“Coimisiún na Meán has also sought to develop relationships with its EU counterparts, not least as vice-chair of the working group that drew up the guidance for platforms on implementing Article 28 of the DSA on the protection of minors. As I have outlined, significant progress has been made through legislation and regulation and considerations are being given to the next steps but it is also important we educate, and raise awareness among, the general public of Ireland's online safety framework, the obligations of platforms, the rights of users and the role of Coimisiún na Meán. More generally, in April 2025, the Government approved the publication of a new national counter disinformation strategy. As we all know, disinformation is a serious challenge and one which must be met with a whole-of-society response. The problem is not new.”