Ireland ready to restrict social media for children even without EU agreement
6 hours ago
- #Irish Government
- #EU Policy
- #Social Media Restrictions
- Ireland is prepared to enact national restrictions on children's social media use if EU progress is insufficient.
- Communications Minister Patrick O'Donovan warned this could embarrass EU institutions as Ireland chairs the Communications Ministers Council.
- Ireland considers restrictions similar to UK plans to ban social media for under-16s and seeks EU unanimity or majority support.
- Taoiseach Micheál Martin prefers a unified EU-wide response for strength in addressing the issue.
- Finance Minister Simon Harris will decide on extending fuel excise cuts within two weeks, balancing immediate help and budget space.
- Harris welcomed potential US-Iran peace talks, seeing Middle East de-escalation as key to easing cost-of-living pressures.
- Harris criticized local authorities for failing to collect derelict sites levy revenue and plans a new dereliction tax from 2027.