Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit as ucht teacht isteach chun déileáil leis an gceist seo. At first glance, "catfish" might sound like a non-native marine animal but this is something that has been brought to the fore in the past year or more by people using their power in the media. I refer in particular to the 2 Johnnies and journalists like Ellen Coyne, who have highlighted the practice of catfishing. This is a process whereby somebody uses an image or false identity online to dupe another person into believing he or she is somebody else and uses that knowledge to act against that other person. Catfishing is essentially where a person dupes another person online into believing they are somebody else. In many instances, it has happened in the context of online dating and romantic contexts but there is also a wider issue in respect of fraud and things like that. In Ireland alone, there has been a great deal of discussion of catfishing. Most people will be aware of the GAA catfish story. In this case, one particular person is estimated to have duped around 40 people online into believing she was somebody else entirely and that she was in a relationship with them even though they had never physically met. For people who are not online and who are not dealing with the online world, this might seem strange but the reality is that people are increasingly living online. They are conducting their business online and conducting relationships online before they ever meet in person. This is, therefore, an area that is ripe for abuse and misrepresentation by nefarious people. This false online presence and duping of other people is now happening an awful lot. As I have said, it was also highlighted by journalist Ellen Coyne in the "Cruel Intentions: Catching the Catfish" podcast. It leads to the people who have been duped feeling foolish and like they have done something wrong. They feel like they have not been careful enough or that they have been stupid when, in actual fact, the level at which this happens is extremely sophisticated and detailed. Listening to Johnny B. and Johnny Smacks on "The 2 Johnnies Podcast", the extent of and detail involved in what they describe as having happened is extraordinary. Any person could be hoodwinked by it. This not only leads to that person feeling foolish and that they have been duped, giving them a fear of bringing the matter to the attention of the authorities, but it equally affects the person whose image has been stolen. It must be remembered that the images used to dupe people online are images of real people, although they have been misused in the context of the catfishing. Those people are also affected by this. On the "Cruel Intentions" podcast, I heard of a young woman whose image had been stolen. She is afraid that, when going into a local coffee shop, she will be approached by someone who thinks they are in a relationship with her because her image has been used online. It damages a whole range of people, even if they are not involved and have done nothing wrong. We can all recognise that this is wrong and immoral. What is extraordinary is that it is not illegal. It is clear that catfishing is not against the law in Ireland. When it goes into the wider realm of fraud and people are defrauded out of money, an offence is certainly committed under the Criminal Justice (Theft and Fraud Offences) Act 2001. There have also been attempts in these Houses, particularly by my former colleague, the former Senator, Lisa Chambers, to bring forward legislation to outlaw this practice but, at the moment, it is not against the law. Notwithstanding the fact it is immoral and patently wrong and that it damages a whole cohort of people, including both those whose images are stolen and those who are fooled online by stolen images, how can we expect to stop people from doing this and how can we expect anything to change if we do not make this illegal and introduce real consequences in the courts and in criminal justice legislation for people who do this?

Sentiment score: -0.18

I welcome the acknowledgement of the seriousness of what I said. I welcome the fact the Minister of State and the Department acknowledge that catfishing is wrong. I also recognise that the Minister of State said it is not illegal. I was in these Houses when we passed Coco's Law, but Coco's Law does not stop this from happening. The various legislative instruments to which the Minister of State referred do not stop this from happening. At the end of the day, this is illegal. I welcome the fact he acknowledged that it can cause significant emotional distress, financial loss and, in some cases, reputational harm. These are all serious issues. The Minister of State is right to say this is an opportunity for us to reflect on this issue, but let us stop reflecting and actually do something. Let us pass laws that make this illegal. The Minister of State referred to emotional damage and distress and financial loss. Arguably, financial loss is covered by provisions within the theft and fraud offences Act. I am less worried about that, but the emotional distress that is totally unaddressed by the law at present cannot be allowed to go unanswered. The reputational damage the Minister of State mentioned also cannot be allowed to go unanswered. There are arguably defamatory aspects to it, but let us put legislation in place that specifically states catfishing is not allowed. Let us define what it is in legislation and let us acknowledge the damage it does both to the people directly affected by it through being duped online and those whose images are falsely used to catfish. Let us acknowledge that harm. Let us stop reflecting and let us say this is illegal and, when somebody does this, there will be serious consequences for that person in our courts, including prison time and substantial fines. Perhaps most importantly, there will be a mechanism to stop it. At the moment, if I go to Twitter, Instagram, any of the online platforms or any of the Internet providers, I cannot get them to stop somebody using my image. Let us be honest, nobody wants to use my image, but we cannot stop images from being used illegally because we have not passed the requisite law. Let us pass a Bill. Let us make this illegal.

Sentiment score: -0.26