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LABOUR SENATOR LORRAINE Higgins has deleted her professional Facebook page after being subjected to a “tirade of abuse”.
Higgins told TheJournal.ie that she decided to delete the page after being called a ‘c**t’ and told she should have been aborted. She also received death threats.
During her unsuccessful European election campaign, Higgins was told she would be “hatcheted in the face”.
The Galway-based Senator said that she initially tried to “brush off” the abuse, telling herself ‘This comes with the territory, you have to get on with it’. However, she took action after her family became upset when the level of threats increased.
Higgins stressed that “for the most part” the people who engaged with her page were “decent” but said she had to take action when the volume of trolling targeting her and her supporters continued to increase.
I asked myself: ‘Do I really need to look at it first thing in the morning?’
Higgins, a qualified barrister, said that she has almost completed a new cyber bullying Bill that proposes more serious punishments for online trolls.
She noted that she has always had an interest in cyber bullying but became more involved in the area when victims contacted her after she was bullied herself.
The Senator said that having a debate online is fine but “trying to degrade me and humiliate me is not the way to do it”.
I’m not talking about people expressing their opinion, I’m talking about direct threats.
There has to be deterrent and sanctions for people.
Higgins stated that if the harassment had taken place in public, the perpetrators would have been arrested.
She added that when she contacted the people who had threatened her directly, they were “cowardly” and didn’t want to talk.
Legal framework
In late 2013, the then Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte set up the Internet Content Governance Advisory Group to report to him on a range of issues related to online content.
The group made a range of recommendations in June 2014, including that the Communications Regulation Act be amended to include ‘electronic communications’ deemed “grossly offensive, indecent, obscene or menacing”. An implementation group was set up by the Government in July and will report back by the end of the year.
At present, the Law Reform Commission is also reviewing online-related issues such as cyber bullying.
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If there’s no suggestion that the new incinerator has anything to do with the infestation of flies why mention it…….
Also businesses have had to close? Seriously, dramatic much?
@Ian Breathnach: exactly! However The sewage treatment plant could be a possible source.
@Bob Lynch: How dare you suggest that something well established in the area be the cause of this when clearly there is a controversial ‘monstrosity’ in Poolbeg that can be blamed.
@Ian Breathnach:live in ringsend and no businesses have closed. Further no flies.
Because that’s a conclusion a lot of readers would come to .
@Ian Breathnach: You can’t serve food with so many flies, both were catering businesses that ad to close. I’ve gone through 3 cans of pest spray since Monday in our house , the sticky fly paper is covered with them and despite all the windows and doors being closed , more seem to be getting in.
@Sueann Moore: catering business in Ringsend? Theres 8 pubs, 1 spar, Lars shop. 1 butcher. Ladbrookes, tesco, pharmacy. 2 chinese take aways, a chipper, 2 barber, estate agent, hair dresser and a few places near the toll bridge. If there in your house its probably eggs hatching inside and living of fruit.
How did the flies know there was a bathing ban on Sandymount Beach.
Could it be all the dog poo the locals don’t bother cleaning up?
I was wondering why there were so few flies around this year and now I know why. They’re all in Dublin.
I’d love to be a fly on the wall at the next local residents meeting.
Sorry just acting the maggot.
@marcus connolly: buzz off with your puns
@Rónán O’Suilleabháin: no flies on you!
@marcus connolly: live there and theres no issue
Chris is talking shite
@Joseph Blocks: could be the ointment!!!
If had lots of flies in my house, the last person I would call would be the local counsellor.
I would just buy fly killer. Lots of snowflakes out there.
@Dave Sherman: Both Tescos ,both hardware shops and local shops all sold out in Ringsend & Sandymount all week. Finding the source of infestation is a rational step. Councillors have more access to info
@Dave Sherman: why use fly killer? Why not use your bare hands ye snowflake. I do it with my eyes closed. On a serious note though stop using that phrase, i see it in just about every online “debate” and its tiresome.
Bastarsd are everywhere
@Graham Bolton: All flies are love babies,they don’t marry. They won’t let me use bast***s.
I think there has been an increase everywhere I’m not in Dublin and never had flies coming into house or being everywhere in garden had a few bumblebees but not flies black and green ones everywhere can’t eat outside, BBQ, or have pool out for kids over them
Global warming: every 0.25 % increase in average temperature encourages 5x more fly larvae to hatch.
By 2020 the whole place will be covered in them unless we can recruit more bats, birds and frogs with long sticky tongues to inhabit our suburbs.
Think the flies looking for the cheap tents in D4
Where is Rinsgend???
@Noel Madden:
It’s near where 3,000 homes are now planned for development…at The Irish Glass Blue Bottle site made infamous during Celtic Tiger era on amount borrowed for its acquisition!
@Rory J Leonard: No there just normal flies, not. Blue bottles
@Noel Madden: co perineum
Leo should declare a no Fly zone over ringsend.
Definitely Aliens
cavanta?
It’s probably to do with the waste incinerator
@Benny Dowling: sure the heat, being beside the liffey or the sewage treatment plant have nothing to do with it.
Something big is dead and the flies are coming from the corpse. Had about 500 flies in my parents house when there was a dead rat under the floor. So so many flies
Those Flygrants might be just off the ferry, or a floater seeking a better way of life
No rent crisis in ringsend.
Dont live in ringsend so i couldnt give a flying fu(k. Thats it. I’ll grab my jacket!
I live in Dublin 3. There was loads of flies in our apartment. One day my wife said in jest “there’s so many, we’ll have to start charging them rent” I laughed initially but then I thought why don’t I. I put it to them, however, at Dublins current rent prices the flies up and left so problem solved.
It’s the incinerator….
Very poor journalism, the paragraph about the incinerator makes absolutely sweet F A sense, you might as well say the Aviva stadium is relatively close
It’s the dog shite on pathways!!
Don’t ever kill a spider
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