Government to examine age restrictions around certain online content following Ana Kriegel trial
The Taoiseach has said the government will be examining how easy it is for children to access pornography in the wake of the Ana Kriegal murder trial.
Pornography was found on the mobile phones of Boy A who was yesterday convicted of murder and aggravated sexual assault.
The 14-year-old will be sentenced on July 15 along with Boy B, 14, who was also found guilty of murder.
The UK government recently brought in laws which require people to prove they are over 18 to view porn online.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the government will learn from what happens with the British laws while examining what to do here.
Commenting today, he said it is worth examining those laws in more detail.
"It is a matter of concern to all of us that pornography is now so accessible to young people and indeed, that so many young people learn about sex through pornography, which is not an accurate representation of what is healthy," he said.
"The UK law is relatively new, we don't know if it has been effective.
"I think...that at the end of the year or perhaps after a year or so after its implementation that Minister Flanagan makes contact with his counterpart to seek advice and report from them as to whether this has been effective and whether there had been unintended consequences.
"It's a good thing we look at other jurisdictions," he said.
