Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has condemned the attack on a young man in Navan as he slated the “sick individuals” who film videos of attacks.
The Fine Gael leader also confirmed that he will contact the boy's family about the attack.
A teenager was hospitalised after he was assaulted by multiple attackers in Meath earlier this week, with the attack filmed and posted on social media.
Footage of the brutal beating, which has been circulated widely, took place shortly after 2:30pm in Navan on Monday.
READ MORE: Family breaks silence after Meath teen viciously beaten in 'vile' group attack, caught on camera
The Irish Mirror has seen the shocking footage, however gardai have urged people not to share the video of the attack “out of respect for the victim”.
Speaking in Iceland on Wednesday, Mr Varadkar sent a message to the boy saying that “that life does get better”.
It was to the Taoiseach during an interview on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne that it was a personal thing to say.
He said that he felt isolated in school as he condemned the “sick individuals” who filmed and posted the attack.
Mr Varadkar said: “I grew up in 1980s, 1990s Ireland. I had a great childhood, but, ultimately, I was the brown guy with the funny name who a lot of people suspected was gay.
“I would have some insight into what it's like not to be the popular kid in school.
“All I’d say to the young man that was in that video [is I] really feel for him. [He] shouldn’t have been subjected to violence, shouldn’t have been humiliated by having that video posted online.
“It is a very sick kind of individual that posts pictures or videos with the purpose of humiliating other people.
“Also, the bystanders. Nobody intervened to help him.
“I can only imagine how he feels now – Very isolated, very alone, probably even embarrassed, maybe a bit ashamed.
“For a lot of people who maybe had a hard time in school, life does get a lot better. You get to go to college, you get to spend time with people who are much more like you.
“I just hope that he has a supportive family, supportive parents and can see that.”
Mr Varadkar said social media companies have a “very significant role to play” when these types of videos are shared and must take down content quickly.
He also said they must take down the accounts of people who post or report these sorts of videos.
The Taoiseach said that the “era of self-regulation” of social media is over and an Online Safety Commissioner will be set up by the Government.
“The powers will be there and they will be much stronger to require companies to take down content like this, to suspend accounts and also very significant fines can be imposed on those companies if they don’t comply.
“I think often social media can be scapegoating when it comes to issues like this.”
Mr Varadkar also said that the parents of the kids involved in the attack “know who their children are and have a responsibility to deal with this too.”
Speaking later on at an event on Sean McDermott Street in Dublin, Mr Varadkar confirmed that he will contact the boy's family.
He said: "I'm really appalled at what we saw happening in Navan there the other day.
"It seems to me that a young man was targeted, essentially because he's different and was subjected to a very violent assault.
"My sympathies go out to the young man and his family, I'm going to reach out to myself now today and Minister Harris has already.
"I think there is a real issue here of parental responsibility. Those people those young people are easily identified. Those parents know who they are, and they need to act and take responsibility for this as well."
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