Online Safety
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-27
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Robbie Gallagher (FF), Labour Panel

Go raibh maith ag an Aire Stáit and I thank the Minister of State for his response. The presentation made by the principal of St. Macartan's College, an all-boys secondary school, last Friday is one of the most powerful presentations that I have heard in all my years in this House. Everyone who was present was saddened, shocked, alarmed and fearful of the effect that social media is having on schools. The principals and teachers in all schools are at the coalface in that they are dealing with the effects of it on a daily basis. Some of the examples outlined by Mr. McCague were truly shocking. His fear is that we may look back on this era in time to come with sadness of regret. The Government is moving in terms of online safety but we need to more and do it quicker because we need to protect young people in their formative years and I fear that social media gives young people an impression of the world that is far from reality.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-27/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:55:00+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-27