Richard Boyd Barrett
Dún Laoghaire · People Before Profit-Solidarity · Ireland
“It is absolutely incredible that about 50% to 57% of all professional artists in this country live on or below the poverty line - three times the level of poverty in Irish society generally.”
“On a global level, the consumption of electricity by data centres is due to go up elevenfold by 2030. They are hoovering up the water resources and electricity resources of the planet. There will not be much human creativity, art or music if we have no water and no energy. That is what is going on with these people.”
“St. Joseph's Centre in Shankill is the largest care home dedicated solely to dementia care in the country. SIPTU members feel compelled to take industrial action tomorrow because of the failure of St. John of God's to recognise the work and duties that they do.”
“These people actually want to replace human beings and human creativity with AI. That would literally be the road to disaster for humanity. Some people think about AI as if it is cutting edge and the most advanced thing possible, but AI is like the Neanderthal.”
“Against that background, we are seeing these billionaires who run AI looking to steal en masse all of the artistic and creative output of humanity and to profit from it. The artists rightly are asking what the Government is going to do to prevent them making a bad situation for most artists and performers even worse.”
“I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for bringing this motion forward. As Deputy Paul Murphy indicated, People Before Profit is very happy to support and commend all the artists, organisations, musicians and so on who are campaigning to bring this forward.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,055 lines we hold for Richard Boyd Barrett, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 13 of 22.
“I urge people who are rightly furious about what has been done by this Government to people with disabilities to get out onto the streets in large numbers in order to mobilise and demand. What we are discussing reflects what the disability community is fighting for. I commend the Social Democrats on putting the motion forward. I am sure the Social Democrats would be the first to acknowledge that the motion contains the demands being made by the disability community. It is demanding these things and it is very angry. I wish to convey that to the Government, which is will be facing a storm if it does not meet those demands. The disability community has insisted that there be a protest. It is not that we are suggesting a protest. Rather, the community is demanding one.”
“It is despicable that people with disabilities lost €1,400 in the budget. To hit the most vulnerable in that way while giving massive additional handouts to some of the most profitable companies in the world in the form research and development tax credits says everything people need to know about the priorities of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and their supposedly Independent allies. The disability community is very angry. It will take to the streets in a demonstration on 28 February co-organised by the Cost of Living Coalition, with which many of the Opposition parties are involved, and trade unions, unemployed organisations and a range of civil society organisations.”
“What is put forward in the motion is an important part of the response. I hope the Government will act on it and provide the staffing and resources to make it happen. There are also things beyond this which the Government needs to consider.”
“I am referring to some social media companies and their reckless, irresponsible behaviour in having recommender algorithms which push stuff at young people that foments much of the mental health crises they are experiencing, including suicidal ideation, body image issues and so on, which can have a big impact on young people and can lead them to mental health crisis or even suicide. Algorithms pushing stuff about suicidal ideation at young people is absolutely shocking. There is profiteering from it, as was highlighted by Deputy Paul Murphy in the Bill we tabled to do away with these algorithms that are pushing dangerous stuff at young people. There are many aspects to the mental health crisis that faces many in our society. It will affect many people at some point in their lives.”
“I strongly believe, and have said it a number of times in here, that we should have a psychology department in every school. This is the case in many countries, where schools not only have individuals but also have actual psychology departments. We should have the same so there are places to go in schools for young people facing mental health crises. The Government should not be trying to deal with the consequences of such crises on one the hand, while, on the other, failing to act against some of the forces in the world fomenting such crises and leading young people to feel suicidal.”
“People are turned away from emergency departments because they also have problems with abuse of drugs or alcohol. There is often unwillingness to treat people in that situation. I do not blame the staff for that. I blame the lack of specialised dual-diagnosis mental health services, as well as services in the community. Before people end up in an emergency department, there should be community-based alternatives, as the motion states, and crisis intervention teams, so there are other supports available for people in these situations. It is good the Government is not opposing the motion but we need to see the resources in place. We also need to think beyond this motion. Many of the mental health crises in this country involve our young people.”
“If I could ask the Minister one thing, it would be to put together guidance for public representatives faced with these situations. Our staff are traumatised. We are dealing with traumatised people and we do not know what advice to give them as to where to go. Usually, we end up being told to call the police. That is literally all that is available - call the police if somebody is threatening suicide. Two of our emergency departments, in St. Michael's Hospital and Loughlinstown hospital, had their opening hours reduced to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. a number of years ago, which we campaigned strongly against. The only emergency department available out of hours is in St. Vincent's Hospital, which is overrun and chaotic. I do not know if it is mentioned in the motion but we often get reports of dual diagnosis.”
“I commend Sinn Féin on tabling this motion on the need for emergency mental health services and stating they should be 24-7 and involve dedicated mental health emergency rooms in level 3 and 4 hospitals, investment in model 2 hospitals and proper staffing for mental health services. The second last point is particularly important, from my experience. It refers to "mental health crisis assessment and intervention services [and] community-based alternatives... late-night outreach spaces, crisis resolution teams, and community-based assessment, support, and treatment teams". I say that because on a number of occasions in my clinic, either I or my staff have faced terrifying situations where people have called us or come into us and said they are feeling suicidal. We have no idea what to do.”
“In other words, it is guilty of the same kind of imperialist arrogance and self-serving logic that Putin and Trump are guilty of. We should not be underwriting loans for the escalation of military conflict, which has been a disaster. It has not helped the Ukrainian people. What we need is for Ireland to be a voice for peace against war, militarism and empire across the world, to show and demand consistency when it comes to opposing militarism, war and imperialism around the world, from whomever it emanates, whether that is Putin, Trump, China or imperial powers within the European Union.”
“They have no credentials when it comes to consistency in asserting human rights or even self-determination. It is ironic when they talk about this. What did the Minister say? She said, "the inherent right of the Ukrainian people to self defence and self determination". Absolutely. Do the Palestinians have any less of a right to armed self-defence against an illegal occupier? Legally, absolutely not. They absolutely have the right to armed self-defence. We know when the Palestinians try to assert that right they are condemned as terrorists, but it is different with Ukraine. Why is it different? Because it is strategically in the self-interest of Europe. It is nothing to do with principles or international law; it is purely to do with strategic self-interest.”
“You can add to that the various hypocrisies, such as Western Sahara, which I mentioned earlier, and the funding of other dictatorial regimes and the selling of weapons to them. The Government and the European Union cannot be trusted with this money. They cannot be trusted not to continue to ratchet up military competition, to escalate or not to be, to some degree, concerned with their own spheres of influence. Certainly, that is true of Germany and other states which want to maintain their spheres of influence. Sinn Féin is correct to propose the amendment to insist that this money not be used in any way to escalate a military conflict or to undermine our neutrality. The Government cannot be trusted and the EU certainly cannot be trusted in that area.”
“It is important to say that all that military expenditure does nothing to prevent the horrors we have seen. NATO's combined military expenditure is €1.5 trillion. Russia's is €150 billion. In other words, NATO spends ten times more than Russia on arms. Did it prevent the tragedy and terrible events in Ukraine? Not at all. Furthermore, Trump is now insisting that we more than double that expenditure in Europe - more than double it. He says we have to go from 2% of GDP expenditure on arms and military to 5%. That is incredible. That is money that should be going to housing, health, education and the humanitarian reconstruction of Ukraine. Instead, it will go to weapons, the arms manufacturers who want to profit from this horror and sell weapons to Israel to kill Palestinians.”
“The EU is not motivated by any concern for self-determination, human rights or anything because if it were, it would be consistent; it would oppose a genocide and it does not. Leading EU states continue to arm the genocide being committed. That is Germany most notably, but also other EU states and other people are promoting the escalation of the military conflict with Russia. In that context, we have to be clear about what is Europe's motivation. It is to militarise Europe, to exploit the tragedy of the Ukrainian people in order to militarise Europe and ratchet up military expenditure. The Irish Government wants to be part of that. That is why it joined the Ukraine contact group, why it goes to NATO meetings and why it is trying to ratchet up military expenditure and undermine our neutrality. It is not possible to separate these things.”
“Therefore, while we absolutely want to support the Ukrainian people's right to self-determination, their attempts to reconstruct their country and giving refuge to people fleeing this horrific war, the question is where does this loan fit into all this and the attempt to bring peace and genuine self-determination and stand up to these imperial powers. It is clear the EU's motivation has absolutely zero to do with asserting the right to self-determination of anyone. It has no ethics, no principles whatsoever. How do we know that? It is because the EU continues to give favoured trade status to Israel, while it commits, and has committed for the past two years, a genocide.”
“We have had a long history of the United States's military interventions in what it considers its sphere of influence. We need to condemn absolutely Putin's imperialism and all forms of imperialism, including Trump's imperialist arrogance and aggression and his assertion that he has a right to a sphere of influence. None of these imperial or military powers have a right to spheres of influence or to subjugate the right to self-determination of their neighbouring countries, and we need to stand against it.”
“The imperialist aggression of Russia in Ukraine is clear to see and must be absolutely condemned. It involves the killing of tens of thousands of Ukrainians, the destruction of infrastructure, the kidnapping of children, the commission of war crimes and the imperialist arrogance of the Russian empire - Putin's empire - in believing it should control spheres of influence around Russia. There is a long history of Russia being the prison house of nations, as it was called in the days of the tsars, subjugating those in its sphere of influence. That is mirrored by Trump's recently declared national security strategy, under which he also asserted the right of the United States to control the entire American continent, Greenland and so on.”
“Will the Taoiseach condemn what the European Commission is doing and indicate his support for the right to self-determination of the Western Sahrawi people, for an end to their occupation and an end to Ryanair flights into occupied territory?”
“This has nothing to do with what international law states, which the Taoiseach said he supports, which is about the right to self-determination of an occupied people and, indeed, the right of an occupied people not to be occupied by Morocco or for the European Union to plunder their resources with the Moroccan regime. Ryanair has also started to fly into Dakhla in occupied Western Sahara, despite the protests of the representatives of the Western Sahrawi people and to the anger of the people who are occupied. Will the Taoiseach reaffirm his support, when the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara is being undermined by the European Union?”
“The European Court of Justice nullified a trade agreement between the EU and Western Sahara. The African Union recognises Western Sahara as a place that is sovereign and should have self-determination but it is occupied by Morocco. The European Commission essentially refuses to accept international law and respect the right of self-determination of the Western Saharan people because it is engaged, with Morocco, in plundering the rare earth minerals, such as cobalt, and the fish resources of the occupied people of Western Sahara. They are now trying to get around the European Court of Justice's ruling on this, which was in favour of the occupied Western Sahrawis, by talking about autonomy.”
“Given what is happening now in Minneapolis, with the same Trump who boycotted the G20 on those grounds executing protesters and defending and justifying it, I wonder whether the Taoiseach should indicate his support for those protesting on the streets of Minneapolis against these cruel attacks on protesters.”
“Donald Trump and the US Government chose to boycott the G20 in South Africa on the spurious and ridiculous grounds that there was a genocide going on against white people in South Africa. Of course, the real reason he boycotted it is because South Africa has led the charge against the Israeli genocide in Gaza, rightly indicting the criminals who have committed the genocide against Palestinians and because actually it is a place where masses of people rose up internationally against an apartheid racist regime. Of course, the last countries to join the international boycott against apartheid South Africa were Britain and America, which tells us everything really.”
“One of the disastrous consequences of the Residential Tenancies (Amendment) Act is that it will fuel even further homelessness and people being forced into emergency accommodation because they cannot find an affordable rental property. For weeks now I have been asking at the Business Committee for an emergency debate on the record levels of homelessness and people in emergency accommodation. There was the Simon Community report and I am getting loads of cases.”
“These artists are coming here, brought by Irish artists, as part of the cultural resistance of the Palestinian people against their dehumanisation, occupation and the destruction of that theatre. It was destroyed mid-performance. Lots of people were killed in these attacks by the Israeli occupation forces in Jenin. They deserve to be welcomed and I would encourage people to go to the Project Arts Centre and see the performance they are putting on as well as some of the other events that are part of the week.”
“Will the Tánaiste join me in welcoming performers and participants from Jenin refugee camp and the Freedom Theatre who are coming here? They will be performing Return to Palestine starting next Wednesday in the Project Arts Centre as part of the Seachtain Saoirse don Phalaistín, the week of freedom for Palestine, organised by Cairde Amharclann na Saoirse in Éirinn, friends of the Freedom Theatre in Palestine. To understand the context, this theatre in Jenin was destroyed by the Israelis in one of successive attacks in 2023 before 7 October of that year. Since then, the entire Jenin refugee camp has effectively been ethnically cleansed. It has been subject to absolutely brutal attacks in the occupied West Bank, putting to lie the suggestion by Israel that it was all to do with 7 October.”
“Let us have the referendum that was promised and give the whole thing back to the local authorities, the people who have the expertise and will run it on a not-for-profit basis. Let us put in the investment necessary to deliver the housing and deal with the decrepit water and wastewater infrastructure.”
“It has been handed over to private contractors profiteering from our water infrastructure. In many cases, as the Minister has been told, they cannot even do the job properly. There is also the lack of funding, which is part of a deliberate strategy to run down our publicly-run water infrastructure. We have been told we need 60,000 houses a year but Irish Water has only been given the money for infrastructure for 30,000 houses a year. Then, of course, there is the creaming off of the top for the big salaries Deputy Healy talked about. That is something that would not be happening if it was with the local authorities for which we argued at the time Irish Water was set up.”
“The reason Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have not wanted to do that is because they are representing these builders and contractors who want to loot the Irish water infrastructure and are progressively privatising Irish Water through the back door. What is the cost of all of this in terms of the quality of water services? We are told the Minister, Deputy James Browne’s officials told him at the beginning of this year that Irish Water is having to clean up the mess left by small, private contractors doing wastewater infrastructure projects around the country. They are making a bags of them in a huge number of cases because we do not have the local authority workers who are actually experts, who were working directly for and accountable to the public. They were redeployed and all of that expertise was lost.”
“The single biggest item in operating costs in Irish water for that year, and I presume it is the same in more recent years, at a cost of €335 million, was hired and contracted services. It lists the companies, private builders and contractors within that. We have had a stealth privatisation through the back door. That, of course, is why the Government does not want to have the referendum it promised after we successfully defeated the attempt to introduce domestic water charges through mass mobilisation and resistance. We won a commitment which has been reneged on, to have a referendum to ensure that the water infrastructure would stay in public ownership.”
“We urgently need to invest in our decrepit water infrastructure. It is totally inadequate to deal with the housing needs we have, with almost half of the water leaking out of the pipes because of Victorian and decrepit infrastructure. We need a water system that is responsive to the needs of people rather than one that refuses to get back to or talk to the public or its representatives. Instead of doing what is necessary to address this, the Government is essentially engaged in a stealth privatisation of the water infrastructure to facilitate private, for-profit interests. Where is the evidence to back that up? The most recently available annual statement of Irish Water is for 2024.”
“They continue to have normal relationships with the United Arab Emirates as they provide the weapons to the RSF to commit a genocide in Sudan which has killed 150,000 people, or the Saudi dictatorship. We have the justified criticism of the Iranian regime for brutal repression of its own people, which should be condemned, but at the same time we go on trade missions to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which are even more brutal dictatorships. I refer also to the Egyptian regime, which is backing another faction in Sudan and is also guilty of complicity with the horrors that have displaced 12 million people there and led to 150,000 deaths. Surely this should prompt an end to the double standards of European governments and actual action against the bullying of Trump and his imperialism.”
“He is not even allowed hug his parents. He is screened off. His books are vetted so he cannot get his own books. He is going to be in prison until at least the middle of the year. He is being held under legislation for organised crime. They did engage in civil disobedience against Elbit Systems but Elbit Systems is providing the weapons to slaughter the people of Gaza in a genocidal massacre. He was acting in good faith and now he is languishing in a German prison. That speaks to the Government's allies, its partners, the coalition of the willing, who are now angry because the interests of Europe have been infringed. They are quite happy when Venezuela is attacked and when their partners in Europe continue to provide the weapons for Israel to commit the genocide.”
“We stand with the people of Nunarput and the Inuit people's right to self-determination. They certainly do not want to be invaded or taken over by Donald Trump but neither do they want their future controlled by the Kingdom of Denmark. This is the problem. Yesterday, along with Deputy Duncan Smith of the Labour Party, I met with the German ambassador to discuss Daniel Tatlow-Devally. He is an Irish citizen who is languishing in a German prison since August because he protested against Elbit Systems, which has armed Israel's genocide. Germany is one of the biggest exporters of weapons and one of the biggest supporters of the Israeli State, despite the genocidal massacre, years of apartheid, the siege of Gaza and so on. Daniel is languishing in a prison, 23 hours a day. He is allowed two half-hour visits a month.”
“The double standards, the hypocrisy, the soft pedalling and the bending of the knee to Trump's bullying and imperialism have now come back to bite European governments, including our own. It does not matter how much you bend the knee. What is worse is that governments have gone along with his horrific policies. Most notable among these are European governments, who are now horrified at the threats to Greenland or, more accurately, Nunarput, which is what the people of Greenland call it. Last night, I spoke alongside an Inuit person from the capital, Nuuk, who pointed out that they were also the victims of Danish colonialism. Now, the Irish Government has suddenly taken to referring to "the Kingdom of Denmark". Since when are we trumpeters for kingdoms?”
“The Government's councillors laughed and scoffed at that, then proposed and voted through plans to cut the developer levies, in other words to give a handout to the developers. How is that compatible with the aspirations of the Department of the Taoiseach?”
“The mission statement for the Department of the Taoiseach in its report says it is about ensuring a sustainable economy and a successful society. Neither of those things is possible unless we address the lack of social and affordable housing and the housing crisis that is faced in this country. Recently, in my area, an area called Old Connaught, on the border of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown and Wicklow, there was a local area plan discussion about building social and affordable housing. Our councillors, Melisa Halpin and Dave O'Keeffe, proposed that we should have a condition that all the housing, much of it on public land, should be social and affordable, because we do not need more unaffordable housing.”
“There is an incredible disconnect between the supposed aspirations of the Dublin task force and the actuality. As has already been mentioned, it is absolutely shocking that The Complex, a vibrant space across all the arts disciplines which provided direct employment for about 30 or 40 people and had about 250 artists operating out of it, is gone for the lack of €6 million from the Government. That is all it asked for. I note that seven of our leading actors have written a letter to The Irish Times in the past week saying that the lack of core and multi-annual funding for theatre companies has had a devastating effect on the ability of actors to produce good theatre. A central part of Dublin's identity and reputation is being decimated essentially because of a neoliberal funding model for theatre.”
“This is property developers sitting on empty property that was supposed to be used for social housing and the Taoiseach is letting it happen. What is he going to do about it?”
“Joan is 86 and she is facing homelessness and emergency accommodation because her landlord is selling up. Joe is 78 and sleeping on his sister's couch for over a year. Meanwhile, as I highlighted yesterday, there is an apartment block nearby in Cherrywood with 30 two-bedroom and one-bedroom apartments lying empty for 18 months. They are supposed to be for social housing to house people like Joe and Joan. Since I highlighted that yesterday, I have heard there are two more apartment blocks in south Dublin also sitting empty, which are also designated for social housing. I also note that the Irish Independent highlighted at the weekend another apartment block in the Phoenix Park, which is designated for social housing but is sitting empty for months and months. This is systemic.”
“As if the monthly increase in the number of people in emergency accommodation is not bad enough, the Simon Community produced a report stating that there is a major problem now with older people facing the possibility of homelessness. One woman attended my clinic who is 86 years old and is facing homelessness and possibly emergency accommodation because of this crisis. I have asked at the Business Committee that there would be debate on homelessness in the next short while. Will the Chief Whip commit publicly to having that?”
“What is the Taoiseach going to do about it? Surely, he is not going to go over the White House, celebrate our national day and hand him shamrock.”
“I have condemned, I do condemn and I will again condemn the Iranian regime for the violent repression of protesters, for shutting off the Internet and for the censorship of what is going on, as I condemn and have condemned Putin for the illegal invasion of Ukraine. The Taoiseach would not be presenting them with shamrock, would he? He is going to go over and present shamrock to Trump, even now. It has taken a threat to Greenland, because it impinges on the interests of the EU. Is it not the truth that this is the consequence of the Taoiseach and the EU remaining silent, or, even worse, echoing and reinforcing what Trump has done or at least being silent in the face of the genocide in Gaza, the actions in Venezuela, the threats against Canada and all the threats elsewhere and the silence of the world? It has now come back to bite Europe.”
“He admits that his strategy is imperialist in the national security strategy, which states that the US "will assert political, economic and military power over the Western Hemisphere." He quotes the Monroe Doctrine, which was used to justify interventions in Nicaragua, Bolivia, Panama, Ecuador, and in Iran and Iraq in the 1950s. The Taoiseach can go through the list. Will the Taoiseach stand up to the bully? He is not seriously going to go to the White House with shamrock this year and celebrate our national day with them. Surely he is going to tell US troops to get out of Shannon Airport and he is not going to go along with the militarisation agenda that Trump is urging on Europe?”
“He pretended he was interested in Ukraine because of the warmongering of Putin, which clearly is not true but actually exposed that what he wanted was the rare earth minerals from Ukraine. He is threatening an economic war and trade war that is driving up the cost of living for working class people in America and threatens to do the same to hard-pressed working class people across the world. To add to it all, his pal is Elon Musk, who profits from selling child abuse material and misogynistic material on the Internet. The disgusting list goes on.”
“Trump has now put Putin, an indicted war criminal, on the board of peace for Gaza, along with Blair, one of the major architects of the Iraq War, which claimed the lives of 1 million people, and, of course, Netanyahu and Israel, the people who perpetrated the genocide, will be on the board of peace as well. He has attacked Venezuela and kidnapped the president and his wife. Whatever the Taoiseach thinks about that regime, and I do not think much of it, he has no right to attack that regime. Trump has defended the execution of a 36-year-old mother and writer, Renee Good, by ICE agents, and has sent paramilitary forces into the cities of America to attack people of colour and immigrants. He has threatened Colombia, Mexico, Cuba, Canada and Iran.”
“Will the Taoiseach and his European colleagues stop soft-pedalling or, worse, bending the knee before Donald Trump, and finally admit what everybody can see and what some of us have been saying for some time, which is that Trump is a bully, an imperialist, and a threat to the world and to humanity? Will they admit that it is time to stand up to this bully and call him out for what he is? His list of crimes, threats and bullying is too long to enumerate but let us give some of the highlights. He armed a genocide. He gave billions to Israel to carry out a genocide over two years, then invited Netanyahu, an indicted war criminal, to a New Year's Eve party in his mansion in Mar-a-Lago. The Taoiseach mentioned Putin and what a threat he is.”
“I hope we are going to get intervention and support of the Covalen workers from the Government and certainly from the public. It is not only in the interest of the workers that they are successful in their fight for union recognition and decent treatment, but they are protecting us from these profiteers who make money from the sort of depravity we have seen from X.”
“Covalen is owned by Cpl, which is another important name with lots of Government contracts working for the HSE and so on, and using the bare minimum statutory redundancy that it can get away with legally. There is no engagement. It is refusing to recognise the trade union and so on. It is miserable treatment of these workers who were the ones who had to sift out this sick material, who protected the public and children from this sick material. That is what they do, but now it is AI that is going to do it. That is where we are heading with this stuff. The workers, who are protecting us, stressed to bits and have to deal with mental health issues over protecting our mental health and our children, are treated in an absolutely despicable way and have to go out on strike.”
“They do not give a damn about the abuse of children or women if they can make money from it. Insofar as they have been forced to do something about it, it is because of outrage and pressure from the public. Then there is Covalen. I wish to echo Deputy Murphy. I was just talking to one of the workers in Covalen at the moment. It really tells a lot. They will be picketing outside the headquarters of Covalen in Sandyford today between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. and again tomorrow between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. They are content moderators doing content moderation for Meta, which is another company. Their job was to train AI. It now turns out that they were training AI to get rid of their jobs. Three hundred of them have been made redundant.”
“To my knowledge, nobody - the Government or the Opposition - were suggesting that the police should be sent in directly to X. There was talk about legislation being done over time and so on. However, it turns out that, as we learned from the Garda, there are complaints being made and investigations are taking place. We were right. We are still having a protest outside X's headquarters on Saturday at 12 noon. This sickness and the people profiteering from it need to be protested against. People have been abused. Children have been abused. Women have been abused. There is absolutely no certainty. I am gathering from reading between the lines from Deputy Kelly's comments yesterday that, of the companies that say that they are coming in, the one that is not is probably X. This is the attitude of these people.”
“Donald Trump's pal - the richest person in the world - Elon Musk is profiting from producing sexualised images of women without their consent and, disgustingly, child abuse material. When the alarm bells are raised and people express anger about it, Elon Musk still wants to monetise it. It is far from clear that the announcement, which has been forced on X as a result of the outrage that has been expressed over the last while, will mean that this sick, depraved practice and the profiteering of Elon Musk from it is going stop. Last Friday, when I was on national radio and suggested that the laws existed and the police should be sent into X at that point, the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, was saying that it was the users who were responsible, not the companies.”