Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation
Dail Éireann — 2026-05-28
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Simon Harris (FG), Wicklow

The Deputy is so right. It is disgusting, despicable racism, and it is not who we are as a people. The people of Galway showed that with the very significant vote Labour's candidate received. I was pleased to meet Helen Ogbu over the weekend and to congratulate her on her campaign. The Deputy's point about the powers of Coimisiún na Meán are valid. I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, to come back to the Deputy directly but my view on this is that we should take a much more robust legislative approach. We ask social media companies nicely if they would mind doing this or that. It has gone beyond that now. I see huge benefits to social media. I also see the sewer that it can become, with toxicity, division, misinformation and disinformation. I will ask the Minister, Deputy O'Donovan, to reflect on the Deputy's points. I am disgusted to hear the abuse that a public representative received.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-28/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:08+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-28