Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage [Private Members]
Dail Éireann — 2026-02-10
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Máire Devine (SF), Dublin South-Central

I thank all those who contributed. I also thank the stakeholders involved. We have come a long way from Bebo. That is a flashback. The Minister mentioned that the Attorney General thinks the existing definition is okay. The stakeholders and victims feel it is not, but that is for us to work out at the committee. We can discuss the matter, listen to people's opinions and come to a conclusion on the matter in a fairly urgent manner. This is urgent; we cannot allow what is happening to continue because it will just multiply. I describe it as being like a virus that gallops through people. In the past few weeks and months, it has galloped through all our little minds in the context of what we are watching or are being subjected to. As has been stated, 99% of the images involved relate to women and children.
The core issue here is the violation of the privacy and dignity of women and children by creating sexualised depictions of those who cannot and do not consent. There are Irish people involved in what is happening, but it could take two years for the Garda to even get to look at images that supposedly exist. By the time that happens, victims will have had to put up with, live with and dodge the existence of such images for years.
Technology is enabling non-consensual harm. In that context, the burden should not fall on the victims to fight back alone. That is why we are here. Stronger safeguards, clearer laws and responsible and accountable AI design are not optional; they are urgent needs to preserve social cohesion. The rise of misogyny and sexual assault is deeply concerning. We all need to be very concerned about that. Apparently, there has been a 43% increase in sexual offences, according to statistics issued by the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre at the weekend. This virus is infecting minds and warping them, especially the minds of our youth because they do not know any different. It is abhorrent and we as leaders must be diligent. We need to stand firm, be proactive, be parents and educate our young people.
We are not going to rely on the technology giants, which appear to have a preference for, allegiance to and maybe a love for robots as opposed to humanity. They make them a priority. Their only concern is profit and their moral compasses are largely lost. Ultimately, these mega-corporations must be held to account. We must pass robust legislation that can be used to deal with the task at hand. We need to stand together. It is imperative that we do so because we all agree that it needs fixing and fixing fast. We must stand up to these tech giants that are undermining democracies and humanity worldwide. They are also undermining how we are with each other worldwide. There is a lot of hate out there and a lot of toxic nastiness that, as one of my colleagues said, would make you want to vomit at times. I voice my solidarity again with all those people in the Public Gallery who have worked really hard and who are not going to stop. They are going to gallop through this virus and we are going to stop it whatever way we can. I look forward to engaging with the committee on this.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-02-10/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:36+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-10