I wish to discuss the issue of social media. It has been discussed many times in this Chamber and by various committees. It has been an ongoing national conversation for a number of years. I welcome news that the UK is introducing a ban to those under 16. Whether a "ban" is the right word or not, I do not know. I welcome the words of the Tánaiste yesterday where he outlined that it is going to be a priority of his and the Government during our EU Presidency to put the issue on the agenda and that if the EU does not act, Ireland needs to stand alone. It is a real strong conversation. I have been contacted by a number of parents in recent days again seeking that we do the same in this country. It is a public health issue.

Social media has its merits and positives in terms of clear information and explaining matters, but it also has its negatives. It is affecting people. It is affecting our younger generations in particular. As politicians, if we asked ourselves whether we like social media in the work that we do and answered honestly, we would probably say "No". It is a conversation that we need to have. It is changing the world that we live in. I think to a time when we used to do mathematics in primary school and recall the introduction of calculators. I say it all the time. If I was asked to do a long division or long multiplication in my mind or down on paper, I would struggle to do it. My fear is that phones and social media are taking away our art of conversation. That is the art of who we are as Irish people and what we are good at. If we go into any establishment now, we will see people on their phones, and I worry about that. We need to act. We have a responsibility as public representatives to do something about it. That is why we are here. We need to have the courage to speak out, put policies in place and challenge those within institutions, be it the EU or our Departments, to make sure there is clear policy. I would welcome a discussion on it. We need to act sooner rather than later.