2026-03-03

132. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport the immediate measures he is taking to monitor, prevent, and address discriminatory online harassment and the alarming levels of online abuse directed at national sports representatives, particularly targeting those from ethnic minority backgrounds; the way in which he will ensure that perpetrators are held accountable to protect the dignity and safety of athletes; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17066/26]

Recent incidents have highlighted the alarming levels of online abuse directed at our national sports representatives, particularly targeting those from ethnic minority backgrounds. What immediate measures is the Minister's Department taking to moderate, prevent and address such discriminatory online harassment and how will he ensure the perpetrators are held accountable to protect the dignity and safety of our athletes?

I thank Deputy O'Donoghue. Threats and harassment of any individual are not acceptable. The safeguarding of athletes at all levels of sport is a shared responsibility. It is imperative that we demonstrate that there is simply no place for abuse of any kind in sport and there should be zero tolerance for any actions that endanger welfare, whether of participants, staff or those who work for and support sports or, indeed, any discipline in the country. Everyone involved in sport, or in any discipline or capacity, regardless of age should be able to enjoy an experience that is free from any form of abuse, whether that is online or offline. On raising awareness, a number of national governing bodies of sport have conducted campaigns in recent years with a specific focus on online abuse, including the Olympic Federation of Ireland and the Irish Rugby Football Union. We recently saw the racism that has been directed at some people playing rugby in this country and it is absolutely despicable. The bringing to justice of the perpetrators of such abuse, whether online or offline, is a matter for An Garda Síochána and if anyone has been subjected to threats or abuse, they should report it immediately to the Garda. Furthermore, I encourage anyone who sees any abusive or threatening content online to report it in the first instance to the relevant platform. If a person is dissatisfied with the platform’s response, they can report it to Coimisiún na Meán. In terms of dealing with this issue from an online safety perspective, a robust online safety framework in now in place in Ireland. Coimisiún na Meán has responsibility for implementing that framework, which includes applying and enforcing the online safety code to designated video-sharing platforms established in Ireland to ensure they minimise the availability of harmful online content. Platforms must provide a way for people to report content they think is illegal, respond to these reports in a timely and diligent manner and consistently enforce their own terms and conditions. In particular, under the Digital Services Act, which is part of Ireland’s online safety framework, the largest online platforms must take mitigation measures against the availability and exposure of users to illegal online content. This includes, albeit not exhaustively, threatening, abusive or insulting comments that are intended or are likely to stir up hatred as detailed in the Prohibition of Incitement to Hatred Act 1989. Once again, I and the Government condemn all forms of abuse and urge those affected to notify the relevant authorities.

I thank the Minister. Online abuse is no longer confined to social media. It spills out into our stadiums, communities and local sports grounds. I was a soccer referee for a long time and I can attest to that. It is lovely to hear the Minister say there must be zero tolerance. For this behaviour, those responsible - it is hard to call them fans - should face real consequences. They should be banned from matches. They should have their online accounts sanctioned and we should have the social media companies walk with us. The Minister mentioned the abuse aimed at Edwin Edogbo, for which the IRFU had to turn off comments. That shows how serious the problem is. If we do not act now and hold people accountable, it will only get worse. Recent incidents, including the flares thrown in Oriel Park at a young supporter, show the real-life consequences. As the Minister said, abuse should have no place in sport. Enforcement is a good thing as long as it works. The numbers on enforcement from Coimisiún na Meán would be good to see.

I agree with the Deputy. To be honest, unfortunately, it is not isolated to one cohort in society. People in this House get their fair share of it as well and it is totally unwarranted. Whether a person is in Opposition or Government, there is a common thread that unites all of us who put our name on a ballot paper and get in here. The abuse some people get, particularly women Members of this House and the other House, is absolutely unbelievable. These nameless and faceless trolls hide behind makey-uppy names and invariably have a flag of some description stuck on after them. They besmirch our national flag and invariably bring it into disrepute. Those people, if they stood for election to a bin collection committee, would not get elected. They are very brave men and women who hide behind faceless troll accounts and fake names. They think they are really brave men because they are ganging up on people who actually have done the State some service by putting their names on a ballot paper, regardless of what party or no party gets in here. The same can be said of sport. Any co-operation and suggestions members of the Opposition have on this are welcome. Going back to the previous question, I will take every bit of it on board because collectively, we have to get serious and get real on this. None of these people are any of our friends, by the way. Some people or some political parties might benefit occasionally from trolling but none of them are any of our friends.

A member of my bunch's last time in Government can confirm that. I thank the Minister. I do not believe it was a good idea to withhold funding from the clubs based off the incident in Oriel Park when the root of the cause really lies elsewhere. It begins online with what is usually a small minority using social media platforms to whip up outrage and hostility before a ball is even kicked. Clubs, which do extraordinary work on the ground and in their communities, should not be punished for the actions of individuals acting behind anonymous accounts, as the Minister mentioned. The focus must be held on those online platforms and users to be held properly accountable. No one here should face abuse - Government or Opposition. I have spoken about this before and emphasised that strong adult safeguarding policies must be a priority for every club from local level all the way up to our international superstars. We must ensure sport remains what it is when it is at its best, a force that brings people together and builds communities.

With regard to the situation in County Louth that the Deputy raised, it is important to state that the national governing bodies here, the FAI and the League of Ireland, accepted their responsibilities, in fairness to them, because ultimately they are the governing authorities for this sport. I was not going to single out one. I had to single out the governing authority. When I met the governing authorities last week, they did not in any way push back with regard to the proposed sanction I had. In fairness to them, the following day, they brought forward a suite of measures that was proportionate to what had happened. They also sent out a very salient message to other clubs within their ambit of national governance, which is that if any of the rest of them engage in this sort of carry-on or thuggery, this is exactly what they are likely to face as well. The challenge now for other national governing bodies of sport is to do the same and take the lead of the League of Ireland and the Football Association of Ireland. They need to look at these two institutions, the League of Ireland and the FAI, see where they have gone and pitched their penalties, and they have to do the same. That has to apply to all sporting codes in all disciplines.