Ruth Coppinger
Dublin West · People Before Profit-Solidarity · Ireland
“Next Wednesday, the trial continues of the Ulm five, including the Irish citizen, Daniel Tatlow-Devally. A delegation of TDs and Senators, including me, will attend the trial in Stuttgart next week.”
“This man said of one woman that he would attach her to a concrete block. He said of another that he would set fire to her. Should this person be getting a pay off from the Army? No, of course, he should not. He should have been put on trial.”
“I have very little time left, but I want to put on record that the woman in question was abused by an Army officer using military equipment and surveillance technology, which is extremely scary. She made a complaint, which has never been pursued.”
“When is the victims of crime Act 2017 going to apply the Army? The Women of Honour have pushed for change so that if there is abuse within the Army there will, we hope, be mechanisms to deal with that, but what about women who are abused by Army personnel who are not in the Army?”
“This officer was involved in a GoFundMe campaign, where rapists' names were used as a joke by the various men who contributed to it. I do not think rape is funny and the Army should not either. That GoFundMe campaign was left up for a long time. Why is the Army a law unto itself in relation to gender-based violence?”
“The victim's belief is that the military prosecutor has evidence of a very dangerous man but for some reason, the Army does not seem to be concerned because it has not prosecuted him on those charges. Why would the Army not want to prosecute somebody? Are we at war or something? Why is it so secretive?”
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“It is a bit ironic that the Government is putting a halt to this scheme in 2027 and reducing the amount now when it boasts and brags about the support it gives to Ukraine, pumping money in at EU level, some of which is potentially going in a military direction. We have a scheme here. I am not in favour of ending any scheme housing anybody in this country during a housing crisis. That should be perfectly clear. Where are people going to go? That is a serious question anyone opposing this scheme has to answer. I will cite the Red Cross survey again because Members were taking issue with it during the previous debate. A total of 91% of hosts had not rented out rooms or their home in any way before participating in this scheme. As has been said, it was an act of solidarity for most people. We do not know what will happen when this is cut.”
“In the Private Members' debate earlier, I referred to a case where a garda made a complaint of sexual harassment against a colleague. The sergeant is working away and she is off sick. We need intervention in relation to sexual harassment. It should be a criminal offence, not just something that is dealt with through the Employment Appeals Tribunal. We need action now.”
“To be clear, I highlighted a particular case but this is not about one case, as shown by the statistics I gave, the survey that was done in the north east and The Journal Investigates findings. This has been going on for more than a year. It is time for the Minister for Health to intervene. An Garda Síochána, the health service and the Army should not be safe havens for perpetrators. Unfortunately, the policies that are designed to deal with complaints of sexual harassment and violence are failing utterly to do so. Neither internal procedures nor the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, are really holding perpetrators to account. In fact, the complainants, who often are women, are the people who end up suffering in their career, in their education, as we saw with the case in UCD, or in terms of their health.”
“Others experienced unwanted physical contact. One woman, Hope, who has ten years' experience in the service, was dry-humped by a male colleague. No woman should have to put up with this in the workplace and, in addition, this behaviour is a danger to the general public. Why is it being allowed? Will the Government set up an independent investigation into the ambulance service?”
“Will the Taoiseach investigate why the HSE has promoted this man and why the procedures are failing? In July 2025, The Journal Investigates did a survey on this issue. It found that in the past five years, 85 complaints were raised with NAS management about bullying and sexual harassment. Only ten of those complaints made it to disciplinary level. In 2020 alone, there were 20 complaints. The National Ambulance Service Representative Association, NASRA, has called for an independent inquiry into the service and into these issues. In a survey of NAS staff in the north east in May 2025, 56 out of 65 women responded. One in two had experienced sexual harassment, comments or unwanted touching by ambulance personnel. One told of how a paramedic made the comment, "If you need a hand with the breastfeeding, let me know".”
“For years, this predator has sexually harassed without consequence. At least five women suffered misconduct from him, including one he locked in a shed. Four women contacted their line managers but their complaints were not progressed. Kathy could have been spared the horrific ordeal she has endured over a period of time at the hands of this person had the complaints procedures and sexual harassment policies in the National Ambulance Service worked. It seems a bit like what happened in the church, with offenders being moved from base to base after complaints. Paramedics are the first to the scene of emergencies. They may be on their own with very vulnerable people for a long time. A sexual predator with authority and access to drugs is a very dangerous mix.”
“The ambulance service is absolutely essential. Paramedics are the first on the scene and they do incredible work, as I know from my own personal experience. However, this week, we have seen further reports of a misogynistic and toxic culture in the National Ambulance Service, NAS. Will the Taoiseach investigate this issue? I have spoken to Kathy - that is not her real name - who has reported a paramedic who drugged, sexually assaulted, coercively controlled and raped her on multiple occasions. He apparently stole controlled drugs, namely, midazolam, which is a strong sedative, and Penthrox, a powerful painkiller, which he used against her. Despite the NAS being fully aware for over a year of a rape investigation into this man, he was recently promoted into a senior position in the service.”
“I imagine we want to keep women within the Garda to have a diverse police service in this country. I would love the Minister to look into how An Garda Síochána are handling sexual harassment complaints. I would like him to confirm that he will include it in the new Fiosrú investigative team.”
“The Garda breached the procedures in this case. The WRC said that was okay. What is the point in having procedures then? The WRC is where people go. Why is sexual harassment not a criminal offence? It is not taken seriously at all. Sexual harassment is a marker for much more serious violence that will happen. If the case of Gisèle Pelicot in France, her husband was initially found out on a much less serious charge of upskirting as it is called. We should take sexual harassment very seriously. I do not know what the Minister would say to somebody like Carol. She is still serving within the Garda. Obviously, she is out sick. She is being bullied and shunned by other gardaí because she reported somebody who is claiming that they were completely innocent and that she fabricated it.”
“She also told me about comments that she had been told of comments that were being made in stations about Margaret Loftus. They are absolutely sickening sexist comments. Boasts were made by a garda about beating his wife with a frying pan. This kind of sexism means that gardaí who are meant to deal with gender-based violence are at the coalface. The first person any woman or any victim, be they male or female, but it is more so women, or a child, is going to come into contact with is probably a garda. If they have these attitudes, how can people feel safe? Are women safe within An Garda Síochána? Somebody like Carol who is a long serving garda with an excellent record and loved her job but is now being edged out. The other issue relates to the Workplace Relations Commission. This applies in general.”
“He was fined, she thinks, about two weeks wages. He is back working as a sergeant supervising young female probationers and sitting in cars with them. It is Carol, the woman complainant, who is out sick whose career has suffered. She said that she destroyed her career and life the day she reported the wrong-doing. She followed the procedures. An Garda Síochána did not. Like Margaret Loftus, she said, her reputation and credibility were destroyed. There is a deep culture of sexism within An Garda Síochána which the Minister should be very concerned about. I spoke to Carol about this in depth. Carol told me about other women who were afraid of this sergeant and other incidents with him but no woman is going to make a complaint since he is back in action with no repercussions.”
“She did not make a complaint initially but she did speak informally to a sergeant, so that she might not have to work with that person. She well understood that women who make complaints often lose out. We all know that. The complaint was completely mishandled. Confidentiality in the Garda’s own procedures was breached. This is something the Minister should be very concerned about. The person Carol confided in spoke to the accused person and a whole load of other people in the station unbeknownst to the victim of the sexual harassment. That is absolutely outrageous conduct in a safeguarding process. Eventually Carol was shunned and bullied for making that complaint. The sergeant who engaged in this harassment did plead guilty after 22 months only minutes before Carol was to give her evidence thus depriving her of giving her testimony.”
“Carol was on duty in the Dublin morgue minding a dead body when her senior male sergeant came in and behaved in a sexually inappropriate manner. He propositioned her and sat on the sofa, right next to her, spread his legs out and made comments to the effect that he could tell people now that he had slept with her. He basically made it clear he wanted to engage in sexual activity. Any woman listening to this will understand the absolute fear of being alone in a room with somebody like that where they are also blocking the exit. He also picked up her phone and started sending her messages. That meant she did not have access to her phone if she needed help. Carol managed to get out of that room and waited about an hour and a half for him to leave.”
“I welcome this debate. I want to speak in particular on the aspect of the motion on low morale, internal investigations in An Garda Síochána and how people who make disclosures or whistleblowers end up being the ones whose careers suffer. They often end up out sick, being bullied or shunned within An Garda Síochána for speaking out. I would also like the Minister to clarify whether the Fiosrú investigation he established into gender-based violence within An Garda Síochána will cover sexual harassment. I spoke to a currently serving garda who made a complaint about sexual harassment and it is being mishandled. It began when Carol – I will not use her real name – reported sexual harassment by a male sergeant.”
“It would be a huge benefit to people's pockets and also to the environment. Why is a cost-of-disability payment not being introduced? It should have been brought in immediately. I obviously welcome the measures for people on fuel allowance, but that is a limited number of people. Tens of thousands of people are suffering. I am very concerned to hear that there will be backdated rebates for hauliers and bus companies. The books should be opened up. It should not be across the board. If they are needed, they could be given in a targeted fashion, but some people have been profiteering off the situation as well.”
“There was an academic on TV last night who was talking about people having become too reliant on these one-off measures and needing to be weaned off them. There seem to be some people living in an alternative universe, not realising the hardship that people have been going through in this country for the last number of months. In relation to electricity, the ESB should be taken back into public ownership and it should be run on a not-for-profit basis, as it used to be. We need to bring down prices and the cost of living all across the board for ordinary people. On price controls, groceries have gone through the roof. There is power under the Consumer Protection Act to immediately introduce maximum prices at affordable levels for necessities and food staples. Likewise, why not use this as an opportunity to introduce free public transport?”
“It is a bit ironic that we are now paying the price for a horrific imperialist adventure by Trump and Netanyahu, which the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach have never once condemned. The Taoiseach spent a whole day in Washington and managed not to say one thing about the attack on Iran. In relation to the emergency motion the Tánaiste is bringing through the Dáil, where is the emergency action for the disabled people who have lost out on €1,400 a year, the 320,000 people in arrears on their electricity who have been mentioned and the 180,000 in arrears on their gas? I will support this measure if it does anything to decrease prices for people. However, it is far from going to deal with the situation. We need emergency measures to lift the burden off the general population, not just hauliers and bus companies.”
“What is the Government afraid of in publishing it and being held to account? Was it just done to take this issue off the agenda in Dublin 15 before the general election? We need an additional special school in Dublin 15 and one more children's disability network team, CDNT, area as well.”
“A task force on special education in Dublin 15 was set up in October 2024. Why, eight months after its final report was handed to the Minister, has it been buried and still not published? Dublin 15 is a fast-growing area with an acute crisis in school provision for children with additional needs. Three parents, all of whom have children with additional needs, gave up their time voluntarily to be part of the task force. They pushed for the strongest possible recommendations, many of which got diluted in the drafting. Among the recommendations were forward planning, a central database, good communication, a disability support hub and "substantial additional capital funding for appropriate places". They also asked for action on the teacher supply crisis. Why is this report being buried?”
“It is not good for democracy, it is not good for a challenge to power that we need to have and it is not good for challenging the generally majority privately owned media either. We should call out what is happening here and support the workers who are resisting the destruction of RTÉ as a public broadcaster.”
“There is no legal requirement on Virgin to provide any content or diversity in its output and it frequently resorts to cheap repeats, soaps and so on from other countries. There is a serious concentration of media in the hands of ever fewer people. There are the statistics that I gave about who now controls regional newspapers and the radio stations. There is a move away from public service broadcasting to privatisation and outsourcing and this will lead to a worse RTÉ and a general distilling of public service broadcasting. RTÉ and TG4 should be properly funded. The Government has continuously skirted the issue of funding these bodies. It does not want to increase the television licence fee. Therefore, it will deprive RTÉ of the funding that it needs and force it to let workers go and to outsource. That is not good.”
“That is a clear attempt by the Government to depoliticise this and divorce itself from any decisions that it will have to make relating to the media, creating yet another third party like the HSE, which was created to take political pressure off the Department of Health, the NCSE, which was created to take pressure off the Department of education, and the NTA, in respect of transport. There is this constant practice of setting up companies and entities and giving them more power and taking political power out of the Government's hands. I question the decision to give funding to Virgin Media despite the fact that it has a huge advertising base. I know it covers current affairs, news and so on, and sometimes does a very good job, but it is a completely for-profit company.”
“RTÉ regularly uses the phrase "the Hamas-run health ministry" as a way of undermining figures that might be cited relating to casualties. There are many other examples, including the shameful decision to broadcast the Israel-Ireland match. I call on all workers and all trade unions to boycott that match and I think this pressure is going to build up over the summer. Regarding media mergers, the Bill requires companies to be transparent about their audience measurement system but the main provision is taking decisions on mergers out of the hands of the Minister and passing it over to Coimisiún na Meán.”
“There are so many examples that could be cited of how it has minimised, whitewashed and euphemised what has happened and has been afraid of being seen to be in any way critical, which is bizarre since we are a neutral country. It is not like the BBC, which would be put under a huge political pressure by the British Government, which is a colonial power that is quite supportive of what is going on. Two years into a genocide, RTÉ has never called it a genocide even though the Government calls it a genocide. In one piece in January, there was a headline stating, "Israel says ban on Gaza media access should remain". RTÉ published a piece with no criticism of a press release issued by the Israeli Government about its shameful decision to ban media from Gaza. RTÉ just reprinted it.”
“There is nothing like that now at RTÉ. I think "Prime Time" is now the only current affairs programme. The justified anger about RTÉ salaries and bonuses for executives is being used as a smokescreen to gut the national broadcaster. It appears that it has not done anything to stop some of the high salaries. The director general of RTÉ is paid €337,500 for his troubles and the number of people in RTÉ earning over €100,000 has actually increased. The attacks are taking place on people below that, and that has to be pointed out. Obviously, RTÉ has advertising revenue and perhaps it is that reliance on advertising revenue that has seen it has take some shameful editorial stances. RTÉ's coverage of the genocide in Palestine has been appalling.”
“These are real life impacts if there is no budget and no legal power in a public service broadcaster to withstand libel threats. Without the resources of RTÉ, creators will not have the ability to take editorial risks that they have had up to now. RTÉ broadcast programmes that challenged the church's power and exposed child sexual abuse. So many issues have been brought to light due to documentaries that were made in that department in RTÉ. Although news cannot necessarily be outsourced, it can be diminished and that has happened in RTÉ. RTÉ's "Upfront with Katie Hannon", one of the current affairs programmes, was just cut from the schedule. There are no longer any RTÉ programmes like "Question and Answers", which was broadcast when I was growing up and allowed members of the public to question politicians face to face.”
“The Washington Post was mentioned. It is now owned by Jeff Bezos who owns Amazon and is the second-richest man in the world, below Elon Musk. The Taoiseach spent the day at his company for St. Patrick's Day in the US. We have to put this into the context of the current situation at RTÉ. The workforce in RTÉ is going to be slashed from 1,853 to 1,400. That will have real effects. It will have real effects on the staff members who are left but also on the quality and the nature of programmes that are made. Workers have been highlighting that the fact documentaries are going to be outsourced is a huge attack on the ability to challenge power, to challenge corruption, to challenge institutions, to challenge states and to challenge the Government.”
“He was not talking about the lack of working-class voices in the media, the lack of women in the media or the lack of minority representation; he was saying that we need more private media. Based on figures from 2022, RTÉ has a market share in television of 26.75% - it is not a monopoly - while its radio market share is 27.8%. The market in media has been completely opened up and private corporations have moved in and bought large amounts of the media. Virgin Media currently has an 18% share but in radio, for example, Bauer Media controls 25% of all the radio stations in the country. Regional papers face a monopoly, with 15 papers in the Republic owned by Mediaforce, a Danish company. National papers are in a similar situation, with Mediahuis being the biggest player in the market, so the media in Ireland has been swooped in on.”
“I send solidarity to the workers in RTÉ, who have been balloting and speaking out against the outsourcing at the station and the effective gutting of RTÉ. I agree that the scandal of high wages, hidden accounts and ridiculous pay for a few presenters at RTÉ is being used to gut the public service station. I have loads of issues with RTÉ and will mention some of them but we do need public service broadcasting. There are TDs in this House who are delighted about the whole Tubridy thing because it allows them to have a go at RTÉ. A TD who was speaking as I came in mentioned the lack of plurality in the media in Ireland and said the fact that RTÉ was a public service meant that there was not enough plurality.”
“However, there is no need for the State to be propping up greyhound racing in the way that it is. It is only maintaining itself. Some 5% of racing dogs have died within one year. Surely that should be considered an absolute priority in the animal welfare strategy.”
“My question was broad. I will happily talk about the treatment of wild animals, animals in captivity and farmed animals but I decided that two events happened in Wales and Scotland this week that were absolutely seminal and should make the Irish Government think as well. Part of the reason that the greyhound industry has been able to sustain itself is exporting greyhounds. That will now be less of an option if it has been banned in two countries neighbouring us. While €20 million was given to the greyhound industry in the last budget, only €6 million was given to animal welfare charities, which we know are screaming out for more funding for dog rescues, pony rescues and so many others. I agree with the Minister that there is a huge concern over the treatment of dogs in this country, including puppy farming and many other things.”
“This is an industry that is being propped up by the State. Attendances have plummeted. It is not widely supported in our society any more because people have seen the dangers of having a racing industry that is just propped up by the State and is cruel for the animals involved.”
“I do not think the Minister should be pre-empting whether he will ban greyhound racing. I hope he will actually study the strategy and come out with a report from it. Are we not actually going backwards on animal rights in this country when Wales and Scotland, two countries we have close ties with and to which we are aligned culturally, are banning it while the Minister is doubling down on maintaining it? Dogs Trust Ireland, not a radical socialist organisation by any means, has pointed out that 869 dogs have died on racetracks in the last six years and that 2,343 have been injured. Racing at speed on oval tracks is dangerous for dogs in extreme weather. They have poor diet, very little enrichment in their lives and very little traceability. That has been pointed out by Dogs Trust Ireland, which tries to work with the greyhound industry.”
“I ask the Minister to make a statement on how the animal welfare strategy is progressing. I draw his attention to the fact that two countries, Wales and Scotland, have this week banned greyhound racing. Ireland is now going to be a complete and utter outlier. In banning it in Scotland, it will be an offence to set up a racetrack or for a dog owner to race a dog on one. The proponent of the motion said greyhound racing belonged in the past. The international consensus is to ban it. In Wales, it will come into force by 2030. Is it not time for us to transition out of greyhound racing?”
“That shows that the manosphere, which has been operating since 2009 – it is not new at all – has accelerated. Nothing at all that the Government can identify is going to be done about that. I refer to the grooming of young boys to hate women and radicalising young men against women. It seems that this is fine in this society. The Government would not even tackle the algorithms. I do not have time to make other points I wanted to make but institutional abuse is very prevalent. I have loads of cases of people contacting me since UCD, in the Garda, the medical community and the Army as well.”
“The message that sent was that sexual assault of women and children does not matter. It is also hugely hypocritical to hear the Tánaiste and Taoiseach talking about Conor McGregor being the worst of Ireland. Do they seriously think that Donald Trump is any better than Conor McGregor? My feelings on Conor McGregor are pretty clear. They are both convicted of rape in civil cases. I also want to mention that floats in three parades yesterday trivialised sexual assault of children, with a big banner about the Epstein files and people in states of undress. It speaks to the level of misogyny we have among young boys and men in this society that something like that would happen, and that there is no accountability yet as to how it happened. A third of young men think wives should obey their husbands.”
“Unfortunately, International Women’s Day was not a day of celebration; it was a day of rage. There is rage that we have rising levels of misogyny, epidemic levels of gender-based violence and genocide and militarism increasing around the globe. In Dublin, thousands of people gathered for International Women’s Day. It was a very large turnout made up of survivors of sexual assault and women from Palestine, Iran and Sudan. One thing we have to register is that it was also about the Epstein files. There was huge anger that the Taoiseach would go and celebrate the national holiday of this country with the man responsible for increasing misogyny, who is legitimising sexual assault, openly talking about sexually assaulting women and who is named thousands of times in the Epstein files.”
“She became pregnant and had to have a termination and then lost out on doing her exams. This is a pattern with victims in UCD and other colleges. They have to drop out. They have to do their exams online. They have to finish their degrees online and it is a serious issue. I urge the Tánaiste to please ask UCD and its school of medicine to spend more time resolving this than they are spending spinning against this student-----”
“I hope I will get a bit of extra time for the shock of that. It is International Women's Day on Sunday and I hope thousands will march all around the country. We will meet at 1 p.m. at City Hall in Dublin, in case anyone would like to join here or in other cities. Yesterday, thousands of students and staff at UCD gathered to show their solidarity with a medical student who was raped, and with all survivors. The Tánaiste is a former Minister for higher education. I ask him to do all in his power to intervene with UCD to see that this student progresses with her medical degree as near as possible to her original graduation date. Is it not wrong that the only person to suffer in this whole debacle is the victim, who was drugged and raped at a medical students' organised event? An image of her was shared, which I saw and it is disgusting.”
“They were utterly scary and sickening. People studying medicine potentially had a role in that. The rapist took so much from this person. The school of medicine and UCD should not take the rest. Let her complete her degree and please assist her in that.”
“Unfortunately, just because women are in certain positions it does not mean all of these questions are dealt with properly. I will not personalise it or mention names but we would not be here if UCD's leadership and school of medicine had handled the situation correctly in the first place. There is a problematic culture there and I ask the Minister to be open to that. As late as yesterday, the dean of the school of medicine sent an email to medical students telling them to be very careful because there was going to be a protest against gendered violence and providing an emergency number they could ring. How tone-deaf is that? The protest was against violence, against a rapist in their midst and against image-based sexual abuse. I saw that image. I had to look at it to verify all the facts. I saw the comments that went with it.”
“Can we rescue this situation for her and do everything possible to ensure she can become a doctor not years later, but as soon as possible?”
“Yesterday's protest was historic. Thousands of students reaffirmed our faith in the young generation. A key question that came up during that protest was whether UCD will do everything in its power to ensure this medical student can complete her medical degree within her original timeline or as close as possible to it rather than being forced to spend years longer in college because of the perpetrator's actions. She wants to achieve her dream of becoming a doctor. I ask the Minister to intervene to ensure this can happen. The whole country is standing behind this student. The question is whether UCD will do so. I ask the Minister to use her influence with the school of medicine. We will raise the issue of what happened but let us now look at the future.”
“The question of gender-based violence and the medical profession arose last year when a doctor, Christopher Morris, who had been convicted of assaulting two women was appointed as a locum consultant in obstetrics and gynaecology in the Coombe Hospital. Staff contacted me about that. It has now come up again as the result of what has happened in UCD. Thousands marched yesterday in support of a medical student who was raped and who had image-based sexual abuse committed against her on three occasions. The college and the school of medicine has clearly not acted property to deal with this situation.”
“Over the last three years, €374,000 was spent on a flight to the US by staff to travel to visit the premises of an IT giant which was awarded a contract by CHI. We have had issues with HR systems at all three sites run by CHI. All of these have continued on. This inquiry cannot be a sweep-it-under-the-rug job. It has to fully involve parents and it must involve giving full information to all of the parties.”
“The inquiry has to fully listen to parents, families and patients. It is not a good sign if the facilitator did not fully have their input. The second question I asked is about documents and access to information. It is currently set up that the facilitator of the inquiry and the Minister would be the only ones with full access to all of the reports that are unpublished. That cannot continue. Controversy has continued despite the setting up of this. There have been several controversies since. Last month, we had the separate review into spinal waiting lists but that was delayed due to CHI refusing to give out information requested by the review. There were 62 patients who were requested to come in for checkups after the first review.”
“I have some general points. Parents have been expressing disappointment that the input into the terms of reference that was agreed in meetings does not seem to have been heard. Parents were not consulted and did not have a real say in the facilitator. I know nothing about the facilitator, but they should have been involved in that. It is also problematic, and I do not know if she can answer how she will address this, that the Minister is helping to shape the inquiry while also potentially being called as a witness in the inquiry. This would seem to be a conflict of interest. How is that going to be managed? Parents and children have to be at the heart of framing the terms of reference. I salute the campaigning work of the parents who have brought this about. We have all been in here badgering for this to happen on their behalf.”
“It is like sending two teams out with different rule books and different access to information. If the Minister's counsel is entitled to see the full material shaping the inquiry, the legal representatives of those affected should be given the same right. There has to be an equal process. That is my second point. Third, can the Minister confirm the scoping inquiry will include the voices of the parents and families whose children have died post spinal surgery or while waiting on spinal surgery?”
“I will start with a few questions, which will give the Minister a chance to think about the answers. I will then make a few general points after. The first question relates to Harvey specifically. Across the whole of society, the story of what happened touched a nerve. Why have the head of the spinal management unit, David Moore, or CHI not informed Gillian and Stephen of why Harvey was removed from the scoliosis list? Has the Minister asked that question of CHI? My second question relates to reports and access to information by all the parties in this process. The Minister and the newly announced counsel, Mr. Remy Farrell, will have access to all the relevant reports, including those that remain unpublished, but the parental advocacy groups representing the affected children will not.”
“What is he going to say to people who are gathering in UCD today, who absolutely understand the connection with these algorithms that are grooming young men to be violent towards women and hateful of women and the impact that is having on their lives? What will he say he is doing about it? Opposing this Bill really is shameful. We all know the Government is in thrall to the social media companies, such as Google. It never criticises a multinational company, particularly one from the US. That is just taken as read. We have seen that in its foreign policy, but this is having a real impact on people. It is having a real-life impact on their mental and physical health.”