Joint submission to PfG on Online-Safety (2020)

Submission to all parties for the forthcoming Programme for Government, Feb 2019, by the following organisations:

1. Barnardos
2. Children’s Rights Alliance
3. Cybersafe Ireland
4. Dublin Rape Crisis Centre
5. ISPCC
6. One in Four
7. SpunOut.ie

Children make up one third of global users on the internet. Most children and young people accessing the digital world have enjoyable and positive experiences. They use the online world to maintain friendships, have fun, support their education and learn about their world. At the same time, the digital world can pose serious threats to the development and protection of children and young people. Online safety is now the child protection issue for our time.

The next Government must play a key role in educating and empowering young people to be safe online and making the digital world a safer place for them to be. We are calling on our political parties as they negotiate a new Programme for Government to put online safety to the top of their agenda by:

1.  establishing a Digital Safety Commissioner;
2. ensuring that digital rights and online safety are central to the next Children and Young People’s Strategy;
3. introducing a comprehensive digital literacy programme in formal and nonformal education and
4. effectively resourcing the Gardai to investigate crimes involving images of child sex abuse.