Erin’s priest says State has ‘failed to act’

A PRIEST who warned about the dangers of the internet at the funeral of cyberbullying victim Erin Gallager has said the State has failed to act since her death.

Erin, a student at Finn Valley College in Stranorlar, Co. Donegal, was found dead at her home in Ballybofey in 2012.

The 13-year-old, pictured, is believed to have taken her life after bullying comments were posted on a social network website Ask.fm.

Her grief-stricken older sister Shannon, 15, also took her life weeks later.

Speaking at Erin’s funeral, Fr John Joe Duffy slammed the authorities for not clamping down on hate-filled sites that drove her to take her own life.

He also called for a ban on social media such as Ask.fm – a site used by the teenager.

Almost six years later, Fr Duffy says little has changed.

‘Not enough is being done,’ he told the Mail yesterday. ‘There is too much [unfettered access].

‘Unfortunately, that is the way the internet is designed and we need to now look at how we can put in place safeguards. I think children are getting ownership of phones at far too young an age. We don’t know the physical or mental impacts yet.’

Fr Duffy, who has not spoken publicly about the issue since

‘Not enough is being done’

Erin’s death, had hoped his comments would spark change.

‘I would have hoped the State would have responded and that no mother would ever have to be put through a similar situation,’ he said. ‘That no child, friend, teacher would be faced with that. That no priest would have to stand on an altar faced with a situation like that.

‘I had hoped that the State would begin to grapple with the situation,’ he said.

‘It has worsened. When I did bring the issue up and the whole thing about technology, the State was so far out of sync that it dismissed it as a passing fad.

‘The fact of the matter is that there are families today who are still experiencing the same thing. The supports aren’t there.’

Fr Duffy, who is now the curate in Cresslough, Letterkenny, said the problem of children having smartphones is so bad now that he regularly even sees two and three-year-olds with devices.

‘Children are growing up so fast,’ he added. ‘They actually know how to search for videos and play videos.

‘I’m not saying that’s good or bad but at two and three their minds are not equipped.

‘We don’t put interventions into place until secondary school when, nowadays, those interventions are needed at primary school age and younger.

‘The State needs to begin a conversation and admit there is a problem and admit there are no controls and no regulations to protect young children.’