The Taoiseach has expressed his dismay for a young man who was subjected to violence in Navan and humiliated by having the video posted online.
The attack, on Monday afternoon, was filmed and posted on social media. Gardaí said the male youth was treated in hospital for serious facial injuries.
Leo Varadkar also condemned the bystanders as no one intervened to help him. He added that he will be reaching out directly to the teenager.
"The young man who was in that video. I really feel for him. He shouldn't have been subjected to that violence. He shouldn't have been humiliated by having that video posted online," Mr Varadkar said.
"It is a very sick type of individual who posts pictures and videos with the purpose of humiliating other people."
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Byrne, he said he can "only imagine" how the victim is feeling now.
Mr Varadkar said social media companies have a significant role in taking down content quickly and cancelling accounts of people who post and repost footage like this.
He said establishing an online regulator and an online safety commissioner will provide more power and it will require companies to take down content like this and impose fines also.
Mr Varadkar also warned that social media can also be scapegoated with incidents like this as he said traditional media must also be mindful of their responsibility.
He said it is also an issue for the parents of the children involved in these types of incidents to be aware of what is happening and take responsibility.
Minister for Justice Simon Harris said that he was "quite horrified" by the video of the attack.
The images "stopped us all in our tracks," he said.
Mr Harris said he spoke with the teenager's mother last night to express his "solidarity" with the family and inquire about his well-being.
He said he could not speak further about the matter as it is the subject of an active garda investigation.
'Rapid response' required for disturbing social media content - Tánaiste
There must be a much more rapid response to removing disturbing social media videos, Tánaiste Micheál Martin has told the Dáil.
He was responding to Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty who said it was not acceptable that social media companies were allowing such videos to be shared.
Mr Martin said the country was sickened and very disturbed by what he said was a very shocking attack.
The attack has been condemned by Senator Mary Seery-Kearney, the Fine Gael Seanad Spokesperson on Children.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, she said the filming and posting of the assault on social media "perpetuates the humiliation" of the victim and "dehumanises and amplifies the violence" of the attack.
We need your consent to load this rte-player contentWe use rte-player to manage extra content that can set cookies on your device and collect data about your activity. Please review their details and accept them to load the content.Manage Preferences
She also said she was concerned that "nobody came to his rescue".
The senator said she believed that social media platforms ultimately benefit from the posting of videos such as this.
Gardaí are appealing to anyone with information on the attack to contact Navan Garda Station on 046-9036100.
