Republic of Ireland Prime Minister Enda Kenny has said that ‘porn is an issue that clearly needs to be addressed’.
Kenny said a national conversation on tackling the issue is needed as children are being ‘corrupted’ by an ‘avalanche’ of pornographic material.
He made the comments at the launch of a helpline for victims of crime.
‘Discussion’
The Irish Prime Minister said it is important that we have “a national conversation about what is important for our children – what is, and should be, a priority for our children when they’re growing up, and when they grow up. And more and more grow up being online.
He added that Ireland’s young people are “growing up imagining that what they see on a screen might be normal sexual behaviour.
“There has to be a discussion about this in terms of families and children and the kind of society that is evolving”.
‘Corrupted’
Kenny said dealing with the issue would be part of the Government’s wider plan.
“There is clearly an issue there that needs to be addressed, and is very hard to address, given the range and the ferocity of the avalanche of communications of all descriptions that are coming at young people now.”
There have been calls to introduce education on online pornography and consent in the school curriculum by campaign groups such as the Rape Crisis Network Ireland.
‘Confused and scared’
A survey of EU countries published in June found that Irish teens were the fourth most likely to be involved in ‘sexting’.
Earlier this year, a report by The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (ISPCC) noted that children as young as six have watched pornography, leaving them “confused and scared.”