SDLP Mid Ulster MLA Patsy McGlone has said nothing can be more important than keeping children safe online.
He was speaking after a letter from Saoradh to Gaelscoil Eoghain in Cookstown ahead of an online safety workshop from a PSNI officer.
The workshop has now been postponed.
Mid Ulster MLA Mr McGlone said, “If we have learned anything from the coverage of the horrific crimes of Alexander McCartney, it’s that we need to do more to teach children about the dangers online and to equip them with the tools to keep them safe. This workshop from the PSNI at Gaelscoil Eoghain could not have been more timely.
“Instead of children getting this important lesson, we have now had an intervention from Saoradh, a group with no mandate that have no role to play when it comes to educating children. They would be better off educating themselves, getting off the backs of communities and abandoning their outdated and futile brand of politics that has been repeatedly reject by people here.”
SDLP Cookstown Councillor Kerri Martin said, “It’s deeply concerning that this group thinks they can interfere in an important initiative like this. Any parent that has concerns should be able to raise them with the school, and it’s sinister that an event intended to keep our children safe has been used in this way.
“The PSNI are the experts on matters around online safety and they are best equipped to deliver this workshop and keep our children safe. Nothing is more important than that.”
ENDS
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