Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have a similar question, so I may as well ask it now. There is definitely a generational issue with social media and smartphones. I am aware that times have changed. Sometimes kids of a certain age, when they are going into their teenage years, need phones. For example, they may arrive at the house before a parent gets home from work and need a phone to check in. Times are different. There is a need at times for kids to have access to be able to get in contact.

What do the witnesses think some of the solutions are? I do not think it is a solution for us to say that phones should be banned altogether. I do not think this is ever the solution to anything. Given that we are of a different generation we might think we have good ideas and good solutions but we are not the people engaged on a daily basis. Do the witnesses have any ideas? We are looking at this area and we will be doing a report on it. It would be good to have practical ideas or suggestions from the experience of the witnesses. As the questions I have asked are similar to those of Senator Seery Kearney, I wanted them to be taken together.