I thank the Deputy for highlighting this extremely important issue and for highlighting it on an ongoing basis and for her work on this. We appreciate that. It is important. I was listening to the Deputy and thinking back to some of the debates we had in the previous Dáil. We are going to have to do more to empower An Garda Síochána with the technology it needs for this. The predators, exploiters and criminals, and I can think of many worse words which I am not allowed to use in this House, are using these technologies and are ahead of some of the things that we do. I visited the Garda in the Phoenix Park in relation to this and watched how gardaí are having to sift through the most horrific images for an extraordinarily long time. There is technology that can do that more quickly. We have decided to listen to the views of some who do not have to sift through that more than the gardaí who are on the front line. I will absolutely follow up with the Minister, Deputy Foley, in the first instance, about the SERP report and the issues the Deputy has identified, and ask her to come back to the Deputy with a timeline. I assure Deputy Nolan that this Government is fully committed, as I know everyone in this Oireachtas is, to addressing sexual exploitation in all of its forms, most particularly child sexual exploitation and child trafficking. To tackle human trafficking, including the trafficking of children, the Government has supported the expansion of the border management unit. Around 200 members of the border management unit are based at Dublin Airport alone. To encourage victims to come forward and access supports, in November 2023, probably when the Deputy was having that previous engagement, the national action plan to prevent and combat trafficking was launched. Its key actions include a new national referral mechanism, making it easier for victims to come forward; new and widespread training for all those who may come into contact with victims; and ongoing development and training through NGOs targeting front-line staff in certain industries. Sexual exploitation of children is an extremely serious offence. We have comprehensive legislation in place to deal with it but this is about making sure that we can robustly always quickly implement that legislation. It is something we have to give absolute attention to. We are fully committed to playing an active role in negotiations on new EU laws that will require online service providers to deal with child sexual abuse material and attempts to groom children on their platforms. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, played a leading role on this in the previous Government. An Garda Síochána's online child exploitation unit is the national centre point of contact for receiving referrals in relation to child sexual exploitation or abuse material. Referrals are received from a number of sources, including the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Europol, Interpol, the FBI and the National Crime Agency. The role of this unit also includes the investigation and co-ordination of cases relating to possession, distribution and production of child sexual abuse material and any related sexual abuse and exploitation of children. They are also proactively investigating intelligence concerning paedophiles and their use of technology, including through the targeting of those suspected of the production, distribution and possession of child abuse images. There is a huge amount to do in this area. We will keep an absolute focus on it. I will ask the Minister, Deputy Foley, and perhaps, the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, to further engage with the Deputy directly on it.

Sentiment score: -0.01

There is a special place in hell for anybody who commits a sexual crime against a child. While we cannot do much about places in hell, we can do things about places in prison. We can do things about making sure our legislation and resourcing are as robust as possible. As the Deputy rightly said, we need to come at this with every possible resource and avenue. I appeal to the Oireachtas to please listen to An Garda Síochána about the tools and legislative changes it needs in terms of technology. There was a rush of people into this place the last time but none of those people were involved in stopping the exploitation of children online. The gardaí are asking and the Garda Commissioner has asked this place to give them more powers in relation to facial recognition technology. The Dáil has not quite shrugged its shoulders, but it has not done much more than that. We have to act on this. The Minister is determined to act on it. The Government is determined to act on it. Technology and facial recognition technology have a role to play here in getting on top of these predators and bringing an end to some of these disgusting practices. There is also a role at an EU level. We need the European Union to decide whose side it is on here. We have had discussions about social media, digital media and all that sort of stuff. The EU needs to put the protection of children ahead of any other interest in terms of online platforms. We will continue to engage intensively on this.

Sentiment score: 0.03