Eimear

We welcome anything that is going to protect children's childhood, but I don't think, I suppose, speaking on behalf of the movement, the ban is the full answer.

I suppose the government are, the social media ban is very topical in all countries in that.

So it's quite easy for Patrick O'Donovan to jump on the bandwagon and say, okay,

We'll wait until there's an EU approach, which should be coming in the summer, and we'll talk about that.

And it'll be pushed out then another few months if we're to run alone on it.

I suppose a ban, there's lots more that the government can be pressing on this.

The products that are out there, the services, are known not to be safe by design, like in any industry.

For example, in filming, in toys, everything.

If you go up to Smith's, your product has gone through safety procedures.

The products or the services that are out there are not safe by design and totally unsuitable, I feel, for an under-16-year-old.

There isn't robust age verification as well, and there needs to be stronger enforcement around penalties and fines and blocking of services for non-compliance.

So the ban is one of many pieces.

The fines don't bother them.

Absolutely, the fines don't bother them.

They need to be substantial enough, I suppose, and to block services if they're not compliant.

The enforcement needs to be stronger.

But I suppose what we're trying to do is look after that kind of under-16 age group now as a parent group, because to be honest, as a parent, I've been on this

two years i've and two teen daughters now i've been on it two years like the government have done nothing in the last two years in terms of progress on this and it's parents who are driving this parents yeah all over the country are pledging to delay we have a campaign pledging to delay we're getting parents now going right i'm taking this and we're pledging to delay going into first year we have in most schools around south dublin we have

parents agreeing for no social media in first year and then they're looking for safer alternatives so they're all saying that they want safer alternatives like a balanced phone a watch or no phone at all and they're not putting their kids on social media so parents are just going we're not waiting for this they would a lot of parents i think see the ban as the answer and and that and it's absolutely not the answer and i suppose

We need not to be drawn into a headline and get consumed, you know, the way buyers would say that's the answer.