‘I didn’t sign up to be told go hang myself’

CLLR JACKIE HEALY RAE LASHES OUT AT SOCIAL MEDIA TROLLS

CLLR Jackie Healy Rae has spoken out about the personal abuse he faces online and that he fully supports calls for legislation that would require proof of identity prior to setting up a Facebook or Twitter account.

The comments follow a proposal by the new Minister for Older People and Mental Health, Mary Butler, for legislation that would help curb ‘vile and toxic’ online abuse.

Cllr Healy Rae spoke of his own brush with online abusers, citing Twitter as one of ‘the most toxic environments’ he has ever seen in his life.

“I knew when I was signing up for public life that you’re going to come in for criticism and scrutiny but I didn’t sign up to be told take a noose and hang myself,” he said.

“That kind of thing goes on and it’s vile and needless. I’ll fully support the Minister and I will be urging the two TDs in my house (Michael and Danny) to support any such proposal”.

He says there is no reason why someone signing up to a Twitter or Facebook account would not wish to verify their identity unless they are making a conscientious decision not to do so for such sinister reasons as online abuse.

Cllr Healy Rae’s comments come a week after new Education Minister Norma Foley faced a barrage of abuse online when announcing emergency funding for Dromclough National School in Listowel.

“Why should someone with a faceless account be able to say the cruellest things about a person and their name and image is not verifiable?

“It’s very hard to ignore or avoid this stuff when it’s being sent directly to you. The online negativity has got to me in the past and there are times when you must take a step back. It would get into your head. It can become overwhelming and you must shut off the phone.”

Cllr Healy Rae also added how some people online have a tendency to condemn the entire ‘Healy Rae clan’ when, in fact, it’s often a view or opinion expressed by an individual member of the family.

“People must remember that when they say ‘the Healy Raes’, there are a lot more than just the five that are elected. For example, I might completely disagree with my father (Michael) on an issue, but I’m tied in under the same umbrella simply because we have the same name.

“I worry about some people, I mean what obsession have they got with one family of politicians that they just really hate so much, no matter what.”

He concluded: “There are some very vile people out there that I would call cowards, people you might very well know and talk to you on the street, yet by night they’re calling you every name under the sun. I would be strongly in favour of stricter regulations as its clear Facebook and Twitter are not policing this themselves. We have to have our own rules around this so that people verify who they are. All I say is thank god this abuse hasn’t affected me for too long. I’m lucky I’ve good people around me but I feel for those suffering online abuse who don’t.”

Cllr Jackie Healy Rae