10th November, 2014

Commissioner, Members of An Garda Síochána, Mr. Ternsjo, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be here today on the occasion of the launch of this new initiative by the Gardaí and UPC. The Gardaí, and Mr. Ternsjo on behalf of UPC, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the blocking of child abuse content on the internet. I would like to offer my congratulations to the Commissioner, to the Gardaí and to UPC on this notable achievement.

This agreement will see illegal material on the internet in Ireland blocked by UPC in accordance with a list to be supplied by the Gardaí. I note here that the Memorandum of Understanding concerns child pornography i.e. child abuse images only.

I am aware that this launch results from a lot of very hard work on the part of An Garda Síochána and of UPC over a long period of time. It is greatly to the credit of UPC that they have pursued this course of action with the Gardaí. I understand that the company and the Gardaí have each ironed out many technical and other issues so as to arrive at this Memorandum of Understanding. I commend UPC for being the first company engage in this initiative with the Gardaí. I hope that other companies will follow suit in this very worthy endeavour.

I am also aware of the concern for child safety on the internet which has been demonstrated by UPC. I met with Mr. Ternsjo earlier this year in my previous role as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. During that meeting Mr. Ternsjo outlined the work being carried on by UPC in this area. I am very pleased to see UPC signing the Memorandum of Understanding with the Gardaí as this will further contribute to the child safety by lessening access to child abuse material.

Child abuse is a heinous crime and its depiction on the internet compounds the offence. I recently attended the Ministerial meeting of the ‘Global Alliance Against Child Sexual Abuse Online’ which was held in Washington DC. The Global Alliance is an international joint effort led by the EU and the US to tackle and eradicate this criminal activity. If further emphasis were needed that child protection is a vital and ongoing action to be undertaken on many fronts, then that conference reiterated its importance.

The unfortunate reality in this day and age is that there are those who seek out and indeed trade in child abuse images on the internet. The close cooperation with law enforcement which is launched here today will reduce the amount of child abuse material which will be available on the internet in Ireland. It will also reinforce the message that the viewing or possession of or indeed the trading in child abuse material is simply not acceptable.

The blocking and removal of child abuse imagery from the internet in Ireland assists in reducing the likelihood of the inadvertent viewing of such material. Research suggests that inadvertent viewing may precipitate some people to pursue further such illegal material to their long term detriment and to the detriment of society as a whole.

I am conscious of the ongoing excellent work being carried out by the Internet Service Providers Association of Ireland and its Hotline.ie service in close cooperation with the Gardaí. I launched the Hotline.ie Annual Report earlier this year shortly after I became Minister for Justice and Equality. I know that the Gardaí greatly value the close working relationship that exists with the ISPAI.

The work of the Hotline, together with this new initiative which has been commenced today, will together fulfil Ireland’s commitments under Article 25 of Directive 2011/93EU. I am pleased to say that forthcoming legislation will cover the remainder of that EU Directive.

It only remains for me to welcome this new initiative and to wish you every success in this vital work.

Thank you.