Victor Boyhan backs CSAM term change, seeks clarity on 43 amendments

I'm actually now speaking to section one of the bill, just so we're 100% clear what we're doing. Firstly, I want to thank Senator Flynn, Black, Higgins and Rowan for this really, really important legislation, and I know you've been pursuing it for a long time. First, I'd also like to welcome the Minister and the officials here in the House. So I'm actually speaking to this section, and broadly that section really covers the bill, so it's quite convenient to cover off on more or less anything on the bill when you speak to this section. So I want to commend, as I say, my colleagues in the civil engagement group for bringing forward the bill, and the bill, of course, replaces the child pornography in Irish legislation with the term child sexual abuse material, CSAM. Likewise, it replaces all mentions of child trafficking and pornography with the term child trafficking and child sexual abuse material. Minister, you're right there in your introduction here today. Words matter, and words matter indeed. And so to describe child sexual abuse material as pornography is outdated, clearly, and it doesn't reflect the nature which is ultimately abuse, abuse, abuse. The bill is based, I understand, on the Luxembourg guidelines, which were devised by 18 international organisations, including Interpol, Europol, and a multiple of UN organisations, and you would be aware of that, and I think that's critically important when we're discussing this piece of legislation in the Irish context. The principle of the bill is also supported by the Irish Rape Crisis Centre, who want existing prosecutions to be upheld, and for those convicted under the existing, and I repeat, under the existing legislation, are subject to the same requirements, the CEG amendments address these concerns. In the last, Janet, the predecessor, Minister of State, said there were significant, and I quote, significant legal and technical issues that do need to be addressed. So, of course, the question then asks, what's changed since then and now? And I listened to your introduction, Minister, where you said you would consider them. You have not actually told the House yet, because you haven't had that opportunity yet, to confirm your position on each and every one of the, I think it's 43 amendments. Now, I am supportive of all these amendments, I want to be clear about that, but again, through the parliamentary process, we need to understand your view on them, or your intention on them, and you talked about consequences, and unintentional consequences. So, you, of course, have to be afforded the opportunity to set out your stall to the House, this House, where we're considering this important piece of legislation. So, in relation to the bill, even though the party colleagues were supportive then, I think it's important that hopefully we can continue to have that support, and if there has been any change since the previous Minister was in the House, we would, of course, need to understand that, and we'd need the rationale of that clearly set out to us for our consideration. I would hope that we can address all of these outstanding issues and overcome the challenges that you might envisage, or your advisors might anticipate, or might suggest, that you will want to bring to the attention of the House and its members. The Shannon was set up to be a revising House. That is our function. We are not a rubber stamp of legislation that falls out from the, or up, should I say, from the lower House up to us. We are a revising Chamber, and it is up to us to consider all additional issues and to revise legislation if we think it's relevant, if we think it's supportive, if we think it's in line with the amendments we have. So, I finish by saying, Minister, thank you for your time here today. I don't doubt your commitment. I've yet to see and hear the full explanation for the support, and I hope that will be forthcoming, but I want to assure my colleagues in the civil engagement group you have my 100% support for each and every one of your amendments that you're bringing forward here today. And,