Education « Thurles Information

Hotline.ie 2021 Annual Report.

More child sexual abuse material removed from the Internet last year than in previous 21 years combined
Early results on removal of intimate image abuse are encouraging

The Minister for Justice, Mr Simon Harris TD, has welcomed the publication of the 2021 Annual Report of Hotline.ie, the national reporting service for potentially criminal content online, including child sexual abuse material and intimate image abuse.

Last year, Hotline.ie received the highest number of reports on record in a calendar year, some 29,794 reports compared with 10,699 the previous year. It means that there were as many reports in 2021 as in the previous three years combined.

Minister Harris said, “This marks another year of the important, worthy and difficult work done by Hotline.ie in providing a means for members of the public to confidentially, anonymously and securely report suspected illegal content online, and in particular child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
In collaboration with An Garda Síochána, and overseen by the Department of Justice, Hotline.ie has undertaken this work for 22 years with great diligence and professionalism.

Prioritising online safety is a key element in building stronger and safer communities under the Programme for Government, and addressing complex issues in this space has, and continues to be, a priority.”

The majority of the reports related to suspected child sex abuse material, with some 14,772 assessed by the analysts at Hotline.ie as relating to child sexual abuse. This represents 25% more child sexual abuse material reports received, classified and actioned by Hotline.ie than in the previous 21 years combined. Each report can involve anything from a single image to thousands of images and videos, with victims ranging in age from infants younger than three to pubescent children.

Minister Harris added, “Each image is a crime. Each image has a victim, or victims, who have suffered abuse, and who are re-victimised each time their abuse is viewed as it is shared across the globe. We must never become hardened or inured to these figures.”

Minister Harris also noted Ireland’s support of the EU’s focus on this important area and our commitment to working with our partners to agree comprehensive requirements for online companies to assess and mitigate the extent to which their platforms are being misused for the purposes of child sexual abuse.

This is both in terms of hosting material and the exploitation by abusers of online services for the purposes of grooming children

The 2021 Hotline.ie report also includes, for the first time, statistics on intimate image abuse (IIA), or the non-consensual sharing of intimate images and videos. On the back of the Harassment, Harmful Communications and Related Offences Act, which Minister McEntee enacted early in 2021, the Department of Justice partnered with Hotline.ie to make reporting intimate image abuse as easy as possible for as many victims as possible.

Once illegal content is reported to Hotline.ie, their experts assess the report and decide on next steps, including getting the content removed from the internet.

Minister Harris added, “Between September 2021 and September 2022, Hotline.ie received 773 reports of suspected IIA. Of the 525 of these that Hotline.ie could take action on – as they contained active and publicly accessible online addresses – some 94pc have been successfully removed at source.
The removal rate is very encouraging, particularly as none of the content was hosted in Ireland.
Hotline.ie liaises with An Garda Síochana where appropriate on these cases, and it is of course open to victims to contact our police service directly.”

The annual report shows that 83% of those affected by intimate image abuse were female, with some 73pc between the ages of 25 and 34. In approximately half of the cases, the imagery was found on video streaming sites.

Ms Ana Niculescu, (Chief Executive of Hotline.ie), said, “We understand that going through such an experience can cause significant distress and even have long-lasting impact on a person’s life and wellbeing.
The team at Hotline.ie is honoured to be able to play an active role to break the cycle of abuse, prevent repeat-victimisation, and support those who have been victims of intimate image abuse on their healing journey.”

€832,000 Announced For 42 Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) Nationwide.

Minister of State James Browne TD announces €832,000 in once off in funding for 42 Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) nationwide

Just under €832,000 in once-off funding being allocated to 42 Youth Diversion Projects throughout the State
Funding will go towards assisting with renovations to premises, transport and IT equipment to enhance the activities and services they offer to the young people they work with.
This follows on the advertisement of a Call for Expressions of interest from community-based organisations in relation to the establishment of 4 new projects in 2023, which issued on 30 November and an increase of €6.7m in the annual budget for youth justice services and projects in 2022. An additional €2.5m will be made available in 2023.

Amongst the YDP’s to benefit in Tipperary are:-

YDP	Provider	Amount
Clonmel & Carrick-on-Suir YDPs	Waterford & South Tipperary Youth Service	1,677.00
Roscrea	North Tipperary Development Company	1,900.00

Minister of State with responsibility for Youth Justice, Mr James Browne, is delighted to announce some €832,000 in once off in funding for 42 Youth Diversion Projects (YDPs) nationwide.

YDPs engage with young people through a range of supports, including education, training and employment support, social enterprise initiatives, as well as personal development and supports such as mentoring, and personal development activities.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister Browne said: “I have seen first-hand the positive impact these projects have on both the young people who they welcome through their doors and the wider communities in which they are based.
This once-off funding is being made available from overall savings in the Justice Vote. I am delighted we are able to put this funding to good use in supporting YDPs with much-needed premises renovations and repairs, with IT equipment and with new and replacement transport vehicles. This money will be of direct benefit to the young people the project work with in ensuring greater access to training and education facilities and activities that promote pro-social behaviour.”

This announcement follows on from the publication of the Youth Justice Strategy 2021-2027 last year, which provides a developmental framework to address key ongoing challenges, as well as new and emerging issues, in the youth justice area. A major change contained in this Strategy is a new and expanded mandate for the YDPs across the State.

Additional funding of €6.7 million was allocated to youth justice services in Budget 2022, which sees a substantial increase from €18 million to €24 million on the previous year’s budget. A further additional €2.5m will be available in 2023.

Minister Heather Humphreys said: “I am delighted that we have been able to allocate these extra resources to the Youth Diversion Projects. This funding will provide practical improvements to the premises projects work from, and the services and activities they are able to provide for the young people they work with.
I admire the fantastic work of everybody involved in the projects – Youth Justice Workers, JLOs and local Garda management – that I have been privileged to see at first hand”.

The Funds Administration Unit in the Department of Justice will now contact each YDP that has been approved for a grant, to ensure early payment as per the agreed allocations.

Today Is ‘Human Rights Day’.

“Human Rights Day” is celebrated annually around the world, each year, on December 10th.

The date was initially chosen to honour the United Nations General Assembly’s adoption and proclamation; on December 10th 1948, of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the first global proclamation of human rights and one of the first major achievements of the new United Nations.

“Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All”
The slogan for this year’s Human Rights Day is “Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All” and the call to action is #StandUp4HumanRights.

Shop Around For Best Energy Tariffs.

Electricity and gas prices are on everyone’s mind at present, as prices rise.

Using less energy helps to keep costs down, but it’s also important to shop around for the best tariff offerings on the market. Often times you can make savings simply by switching supplier.

Switching supplier is free and the CRU (Commission for Regulation of Utilities) provides all the information you need (see link HERE).

The CRU have also accredited three price comparison websites which means you can trust the information they provide. The three price comparison websites are:-

For those of you considering switching from Credit to PrePay, it’s worth checking out the CRU’s advice on the pros and cons of each.

For more information you can trust on your energy options, visit HERE.

Consultation On Scheme To Disregard Historic Convictions Of Gay & Bisexual Men Opened.

Public consultation an opportunity for affected people and groups to inform the development of the disregard scheme.
Survey will run online for several weeks, closing on Friday 9 December.

The Minister for Justice, Mrs Helen McEntee TD, has today launched a public consultation that will inform the development of a scheme to disregard historic convictions relating to consensual sexual activity between men.

Affected persons and representative organisations are being asked to provide input on a number of key issues, based on their lived experience. Their responses will inform the final recommendations of a working group who are examining the development of a scheme of disregard convictions for consensual sexual activity between men prior to decriminalisation in 1993.

Minister McEntee said: “We want to ensure that any potential scheme is as effective and accessible as possible, so that we can exonerate those impacted by these outdated laws and address some of the lingering harms of the past.

I would encourage any of the affected men, their families, loved ones and the wider LGBTQ+ community to engage with this consultation so that we can be mindful of their unique perspectives, as we move forward.”

The consultation survey will consist of seven questions, based on key issues identified by the Working Group that would benefit from stakeholder input. The survey will ask how a potential scheme could be made more accessible, how to encourage participation in the scheme and how to minimise potential for re-traumatising applicants, amongst other issues.

The deadline for completion of the survey is 5pm on Friday 9 December 2022.

Following the close of the consultation, the Working Group will prepare a summary report which will give an overview of the submissions received, identifying key themes that will inform the final recommendations of the Working Group.

Minister McEntee added: “The damage that was caused by these laws continues to impact negatively on too many people’s lives.

While we cannot undo the hurt inflicted on people who were discriminated against for simply being themselves, we can contribute to the healing process.

Both the Programme for Government and my Justice Plans commit to putting in place a scheme to disregard the convictions of people convicted of consensual same-sex activity prior to decriminalisation.

This consultation is another important step on that journey towards meeting those commitments, and to addressing the individual harm that was done to generations of gay and bisexual men, while also showing that we are willing to re-visit and confront uncomfortable aspects of our past.”