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Former TD Maria Bailey tells of persistent online abuse after swing gate controversy
“It just takes a toll on anybody, whether that s myself directly or the people around me, by abuse, ridicule, intimidation and it was exceptionally stressful and isolating.”
Maria Bailey: “You find that you re in the middle of a pile-on and you re a lone voice in a very loud pile of abuse and the volume is so loud that the truth and facts can t be heard or don t want to be heard.” Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins
Fri, 07 May, 2021 - 10:58
Vivienne Clarke
Former Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey has said she welcomes proposed legislation to regulate social media platforms.
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Former Fine Gael TD Kate O Connell has said she will not be contesting the by-election in Dublin Bay South.
The pharmacist has claimed she is not the desired candidate of party HQ and it s become clear she wouldn t win a selection convention.
Ms O Connell said her relationship with Leo Varadkar never recovered after she backed Simon Coveney in the last Fine Gael leadership contest.
The former TD has said in an interview with
RTE that she will not contest the by-election in her constituency as an independent and will remain a party member.
Fine Gael Councillor James Geoghegan is expected to seek a nomination, while Senator Ivana Bacik is set to contest the race for Labour.
Former Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey has said she hopes to see reform in how social media platforms were regulated when it came to abusive comments online, adding that being at the centre of online abuse is âexceptionally stressful and isolatingâ.
Ms Bailey told Newstalk Breakfast of the abuse she suffered following her controversial claim against a Dublin hotel for a fall from a swing, while welcoming proposed legislation to regulate social media platforms.
The Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill provides for the appointment of an online safety commissioner as part of a wider Media Commission to oversee new regulatory framework for online safety.
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Maria Bailey said she was silenced in fear during the nine months of online abuse she received after details of a legal action she had taken were made public.
The former Fine Gael TD believes that despite the negative commentary, she still would have entered politics if she knew then what she knows now.
She brought a personal injury claim against the Dean Hotel after she alleged she fell from a swing in the hotel s restaurant in 2015.
Amid significant public criticism of the claim when its details were made public in 2019, the Dublin TD withdrew her case in May.