Digital consent vote ‘democracy at work’
Ross praises defeat of Government Bill to lower age
SHANE Ross has said the defeat of the Government’s plan to set the digital age of consent at the lower age of 13 was a good example of democracy working.
The Transport Minister said that while he did not welcome ‘the loss of the vote’, it was ‘very good to see the Dáil working in a way that is constructive and which is expressing will which isn’t necessarily the Government’s view’.
A Fianna Fáil and Labour amendment – backed by Sinn Féin and some Independent TDs – dealt a fatal blow to the Government plan last Wednesday.
Mr Ross said he wouldn’t like to see losses for the Government to happen too often on such votes, but ‘that’s democracy, it works fine, the Government didn’t fall and their wishes are completed’.
His Independent Alliance colleague Junior Minister for Training and Skills John Halligan has said he would be cautiously open to looking at legislation which would crack down on children’s use of the internet. The Irish Daily Mail yesterday reported that the UK government was planning a major crackdown on children’s use of the internet, including a proposal to limit time they spend online.
And when asked by this paper if the Irish Government would act like their British counterparts by preparing legislation to protect children online, Mr Halligan said he believed there ‘is a balance we have to apply here’.
He said he believes the ‘internet can be very educational, but I do think it can also be detrimental to children’s education as well. I think we should look at legislation, but look at it very carefully and frame the legislation very carefully, as to like what we block children from viewing on the internet.
‘ I don’t think i t would be acceptable. I think to most young adults – if we are talking about kids of 16 or 17 years of age – remember, under 18 you’re a child in Ireland, and if we were to totally block them from accessing the internet to further their education… so I think we should have a look at legislation, look at it very carefully to see where it affects children,’ Mr Halligan said.
Ministers in the UK also say that tech companies and firms would be responsible for verifying users ages with parents and would also be responsible for limiting their time online.
And one of the proposals in the UK is a daily online limit with a possible cap of just two hours per day for under-18s.
WHEN he describes last week’s Government defeat over the digital age of consent as a good example of the Dáil working well, minister Shane Ross is absolutely right.
For this is democracy in action and a great illustration of what can happen when the Oireachtas genuinely listens to parents, to teachers, to doctors, to those who know what they are talking about. And refuses to be swayed by the arguments of the tech industry and its supporters.
For what we witnessed with this Government defeat was a parliament that took time to consider all the evidence before arriving at a clear and unequivocal conclusion that the most important issue here was the protection of our children.
This was the correct decision and the only acceptable decision from a societal perspective. Let’s hope, therefore, this is the start of a sustained approach by our national parliament to act swiftly and assertively to protect our children online.