Tánaiste Simon Harris has said he thinks the trend of suspended sentences for those caught with “depraved” child abuse imagery is “absolutely sickening”.
Speaking to reporters outside Government Buildings this morning, the Fine Gael Tánaiste said he will discuss the prospect of legislating for harsher sentences with the Minister for Justice.
“I’ll certainly talk to the Minister for Justice in relation to what the most effective way of taking that forward is,” he said.
“It goes against every fibre of our being when we see anyone engaging in such depraved, disgusting, despicable crimes against children not meeting the full rigours of what I think Irish people expect in relation to justice.”
Harris was asked about the impact of legal precedents, such as DPP versus Loving, which have been cited as a reason for the judiciary handing down non-custodial sentences for the possession of graphic imagery.
The Tánaiste said he would look “more specifically” into the sentencing issues raised, but suggested that legislative action was a possibility.
“We need to take a very serious approach here and use all of the tools at our disposal to make sure we keep our children safe.”
The Tánaiste also spoke out against arguments that pit child safety against civil liberties.
“We need to stop having straw man arguments about freedom of expression versus child safety,” he said.
“I see this constantly online and we’re not going down this trap. Our children have to be safe.”
Harris further noted that it is a “fundamental obligation” of society to ensure the safety of children.
The comments come as the Tánaiste also addressed the issue of age verification for social media on Internet Safety Day.
He expressed concern that children are suffering from “doom scrolling” and addiction.
“There needs to be a minimum age in relation to social media,” he said.
“This isn’t a radical concept. We have a minimum age in relation to when you can smoke, when you can drink, when you can vote, when you can have sex, when you can watch certain movies…and therefore social media shouldn’t be treated any differently.”
While Harris stated it was “preferable” for European nations to move together on the issue, he did not rule out domestic action.
“I am absolutely not in favour of sitting by idly and waiting for Europe to act,” he said.
“…What the Minister for Communications is doing is correct because you can’t have a minimum age if you can’t verify age.”
Other countries such as Spain and Australia have also recently moved to ban under-16s from utilising social media.
The sentencing of child abuse imagery has been a matter of recent public debate.
Last week, Justice Minister Jim O’Callaghan was involved in an exchange regarding the legal framework surrounding these crimes.
In recent years the government have faced increasing pressure to address the perception that the judiciary is restricted by existing precedents when adjudicating on the possession of heinous material.