€50k for Cavan Youth and Community Protection Programme

Significant government investment has been announced for a Youth and Community Protection Programme for Cavan, which has been developed since the enactment of Coco's Law.

As part of the Cavan Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP), the programme is a county-wide initiative designed to prevent online bullying and harm, image-based abuse and digital exploitation among young people and vulnerable community groups.

The initiative will deliver county-wide Garda-led education on Coco’s Law, consent, online safety, reporting and support services, practical toolkits, awareness campaigns and partnerships such as schools and youth services to promote safer online behaviour and wellbeing.

Fianna Fáil TD Brendan Smith has welcomed the funding announcement for the programme, which deals with a "very serious" issue in society.

"I compliment An Garda Siochana in Cavan on this initiative. I listened to an outline of this Programme at a recent Community Safety Partnership meeting and it is a real partnership between An Garda Siochana, schools and youth clubs," he said.

"It deals with a very serious issue that merits the most serious consideration from all of society; bullying and the dissemination of harmful material online must be tackled effectively."