The Republic would seek to improve online safety for children and boost Europe’s economic competitiveness and security, all of which are among its priorities for the presidency of the Council of the European Union.
As the Government on Wednesday unveiled its policy programme for the six-month-long presidency starting in July, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said the State would “work with others to make sure that Europe’s children are safe online”.
In recent months, the Government has proposed a ban on social media use for under-16s while also suggesting there should be a restriction at EU level.
Asked what the public could expect in this area by the end of the presidency, Martin replied: “far greater protection for children online”, adding that “age verification will be a key factor of that”.
He said the six-month presidency would be a “challenging timeline” for bringing in a social media ban for under-16s, but “certainly we hope to advance it”.
Martin also pushed back against the suggestion that there is tension between the European headquarters for many of the world’s largest technology companies being located in the State and EU efforts to regulate them.
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He said tech companies argue that there is too much regulation, but added that “on the other hand, though, they’ve been pretty successful in Europe”.
Martin said he agrees with some in the tech sector that “we do need to pivot more to innovation in Europe”, citing the area of artificial intelligence, where “the US and China are well ahead of Europe”.
However, he also said he has never accepted the argument about tension over the State hosting tech companies “because our Data Protection Commission … has been very effective.”
Some 270 meetings involving foreign officials and politicians will be held during the presidency, including many outside Dublin, with Martin putting the costs at between €165 million and €185 million, excluding security costs.
The Irish Times previously reported that €125 million has been allocated to An Garda Síochána alone, so the overall costs are set to be about €300 million.
Martin said Irish authorities would work with other countries on security “as we do all on a habitual and on a regular basis”, citing the State’s intelligence services working with others “in terms of identifying potential risks [and] sharing knowledge”.
During the launch, Martin said at a time of increased threat and conflict, “we need to work harder to protect our citizens, our democracies, and our European way of life”.
The Taoiseach said the Republic would “continue to offer unwavering support to Ukraine” and would support countries that have applied to join the EU.
Martin suggested that one of those countries, Montenegro, could be “very close to the end line [for joining] by the end of the year”.
He said the State would “seek to secure a solid basis for the future work of the union through the negotiation of the European Union’s next long-term budget”.