I am well aware, but-----

-----this is a matter of social welfare.

Maybe the Minister will kindly answer my question. It is such an important service-----

-----for our deaf community. Maybe the Minister could update me. It is an awful pity that the scheme will be taken away from these vulnerable people in our society on 20 February.

On a point of order. Will the Minister confirm that the people who are currently-----

It is based on what the Minister has just stated. I just wanted clarification on something. Is that okay? Can I get clarification?

Okay, that is fine.

I move amendment No. 27: In page 40, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(2A) The Commission shall ensure the status as a trusted flagger is not awarded to an entity which is partisan and seeks the status as a trusted flagger as means of controlling or influencing content.”. Central to my concerns with this Bill and those of many of the public is the phrase “Who watches the watchers?”, taken in conjunction with Pontius Pilate's utterance, quid est veritas , or what is truth? Ever since 2016, the online…

I have a point of order on something Senator Byrne stated. My amendment states, "The Commission shall ensure the status as a trusted flagger is not awarded to an entity which is partisan and seeks the status as a trusted flagger as means of controlling or influencing content." I agree there should be provision in this area but somebody has to oversee who the trusted flaggers are. You have to have a mechanism of checking them. Let us consider some of the NGOs at this moment in time.

Let us just consider the NGOs at this moment. The Government obviously supports many of the NGOs in this country, particularly given the ongoing referendum campaigns. There are NGOs that are 96% funded. The National Women’s Council of Ireland, NWCI, is 96% funded by the Government. It is out doing the bidding of the Government.

Sorry it is. Are they to be trusted with legislation?

They are not to be trusted with legislation. They are spreading misinformation-----

-----and disinformation in relation to the referendum.

Everything I have said here is factually true.

I thank the Minister of State for his reply on the question of how this status can be revoked. This legislation has massive implications EU-wide when it comes to hate speech because "illegal content" does include hate speech as defined by the EU. It is not just for people on the left or the right - even people with pro-Palestinian or progressive views would find themselves on the wrong side of this legislation. Checks and balances are needed. This legislation will fly through both Houses with very little scrutiny w…

I think the Minister of State is doing a dance around what I said. The Digital Services Act does not define hate speech but this Bill, in conjunction with the Hate Speech Bill and the EU Hate Speech Bill is very dangerous. It has implications worldwide but particularly for people in Ireland and in the EU. I wanted to make that point.

Votáil.

I move amendment No. 28: In page 40, between lines 16 and 17, to insert the following: “(6) The Commission shall establish a database of trusted flaggers, including aggregate details of complaints, including unsuccessful complaints, to be published publicly on a yearly basis.”.

I move amendment No. 32: In page 40, between lines 34 and 35, to insert the following: "(3) The Commission shall establish a mechanism for third parties to lodge complaints regarding the actions and workings of trusted flaggers.".

I move amendment No. 35: In page 45, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: "(3) The Commission shall ensure that fees for different classes of application or review request are not prohibitive.". This is a simple common-sense amendment. It seeks to bring some equality of opportunity to the playing fields of who can become a trusted flagger. This should not exclusively be the remit of a large body or wealthy State-funded NGO. Those who have the necessary experience and qualifications should be able to appl…