07-05-2025
- Politics
- Irish Daily Mirror
Opposition TDs leave Dáil as Michael Lowry speaks during Other Members Questions
Opposition TDs left the Dáil chamber as Michael Lowry spoke for the first time in the new 'Other Members' Questions' slot to raise concerns about people filming tragic incidents.
The slot was created after the opposition objected to Mr Lowry and other TDs who negotiated the programme for government being allowed to take part in Leaders' Questions.
The new slot, which is nearly identical to Leaders' Questions, was also objected to by the opposition and led to weeks of argument.
Mr Lowry took part in the slot for the first time on Wednesday. It resulted in politicians from Sinn Féin, Labour and People Before Profit leaving the chamber. The Social Democrats stayed.
Mr Lowry addressed the death of Luke Hyde who died after getting into difficulty while swimming across the River Lee, from Pope's Quay to Lavitt's Quay, in Cork city last Wednesday, April 30.
Some onlookers began recording and live-streaming the tragedy, leading to calls for 'Luke's Law' to be introduced to ban such filming.
Mr Lowry spoke of the 'heartache' of Mr Hyde's mother at 'people callously filming her son's final moments'.
He said: 'Unfortunately, this mother is not the first to feel such horror. Families right across the country have also been subjected to some similar pitiful actions.
'It has become common for people to record tragic events for the sole purpose of sharing or threatening to share on social media.
'Images of road tragedies, injured victims, those suffering shock and distress, people crying for help, they've all had their anguish and fear reduced to public online spectacle. Misfortunes are reduced to grotesque entertainment.
'Emergency responders have also frequently spoken out about the heartless behaviour of onlookers who turned a tragedy into a clickbait opportunity."
Mr. Lowry continued: 'It is not only incidents like this that find their way into the public domain. Violent brawls, racist attacks, abusive actions and bullying are also considered fair game for recording. Blackmail is commonly used to threaten the victims who live in fear of the content being made public or sent to families or authorities.
'The grief and torment that these threats can cause is incalculable. Many victims are blackmailed for money. Others are coerced into illegal or unsavoury actions in order to buy the silence of their tormentors.'
Mr Lowry called on Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers to outline Coimisiún na Meán's brief.
Minister Chambers expressed his own condolences to the family of Luke Hyde, stating it is 'deeply concerning that the first instinct [of] some of those present when Luke tragically lost his life was not to help out' but rather 'take out their phones'
He added: 'It is a failure of basic human decency to take the view that social media clout is more important than the dignity and privacy of someone in extreme distress in their last moments.'
Mr Chambers also said that the online media platforms have a role to play in removing content as soon as possible.
If the platform fails to apply its terms and conditions, he said, Coimisiún na Meán can take action against them.
When Mr Lowry's engagement with Minister Chambers was over, the Sinn Féin and Labour TDs came back into the Chamber.
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