Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister to the House. He has been here on several occasions in the past year and a half to discuss the issue of bullying and mental health among young people, which reflects both the priority he has brought to this issue since he became Minister for Education and Skills and the interest that Senators have taken in it. During statements, in Private Members' time and when discussing legislation, Senators from all parties have expressed the view that this should be a priority and that we want to see the Government work on it. The process the Minister has undertaken through the action plan and in taking submissions from the education partners, from Fianna Fáil and from other Members of this House has been a good example of a partnership approach. It is perhaps also an example of the role of this House in feeding into legislation and into Government policy in a bipartisan way, and working with a Minister to get things done on an issue that is incredibly important to young people and their families. I commend the Minister on having taken that approach.

As the Minister rightly pointed out, bullying has a hugely debilitating effect on young people. At the very least, it makes it impossible for a young person to get the real opportunities they need at school. If somebody is depressed, upset or afraid of going to school, or afraid of turning on their phone between classes to see if somebody has sent them a text message or posted something nasty about them on the Internet - if a child is that unhappy - it is impossible for them to do well at school. That is very least effect it can have on our students. At the most extreme, of course, it has led to young people taking their own lives, and we have had several high profile cases of this in recent years.

This is an incredibly important issue and one that needs focus at all levels. I welcome the fact the guidelines have now been published and the Minister has outlined the details of what they involve. There is no doubt the previous guidelines were wildly out of date, having been adopted in 1993, a time before most of us had computers on our desks, let alone smartphones and all the new gadgets that are now available. Cyberbullying was non-existent at that point whereas it is a huge issue now, so there is no doubt the guidelines needed to be updated. Of course, there is now also much greater understanding of homophobia and the need for schools to ensure they do everything they can to crack down on homophobic bullying and ensure they are a safe place for all students, regardless of their sexual orientation or any other differences between them.

As the Minister pointed out, the guidelines are just one part of the action plan to tackle bullying. I welcome the fact he has announced training for parents, which is essential given that schools will only be able to tackle this issue if there is a true whole-school approach with teachers, parents and, in particular, students. I have spoken in the House before, as have other Members, about the BeLonGTo initiative and Stand Up!, and the Minister kindly ensured money was set aside to finance these initiatives. This shows it is peer support and peer-run initiatives that can often have a far greater impact than initiatives led by parents or teachers, where adults tell young people what they should do. There has to be a sense of community among young people, an awareness of what is and is not acceptable and a determination to stand up for each other, to look out for friends and to make sure bullying is not acceptable in any form. When that culture can be brought about among young people themselves, that is when we will really eradicate bullying from our schools.

I last week attended the launch of ShoutOut, where third level students from my former alma mater, Trinity College, who are members of societies including the Phil and the LGBT Society have put together an initiative that sends third level students into second level schools, and they have received support from the US Embassy to do so. The LGB students are fine ambassadors - we had some fine looking rugby players at the launch last week - and include male and female students of all different backgrounds, from different parts of the country and with different interests. I believe they will be a great inspiration when they go into second level schools and are able to say to young LGB students: "Whatever you are feeling now, things do get better. I have been where you are and I am now doing well in college and enjoying my life". To be able to hear that message directly from a student is very powerful, and I know they will also have an impact on non-LGB students in the school in terms of telling them what they needed from their friends at the time, and how that can make a difference.

I welcome all of that as part of the mix in regard to the bullying action plan the Minister has brought forward. However, I have a serious concern in regard to resources, which is an issue that has been raised by the education partners. While the schools should always have been dealing with bullying and positive mental health, it is somewhat contradictory to give them these extra responsibilities on guidelines and initiatives at a time when guidance counsellors have been cut and when schools are worrying about losing core teaching through an increase in class sizes and in the pupil-teacher ratio.

I agree with the Minister that dealing with bullying and promoting positive mental health cannot be the responsibility of one individual. We will not achieve any real culture change in a school through that kind of system. However, my concern with the guidance cuts is that, as much as everybody has to get involved in the broader project, it is essential there is a designated person in the school who has time for one-to-one counselling with students. I am particularly concerned that many of those services have been cut back in the health sector as well. Members are aware of the difficulties in getting children appointments through the child mental health services. The gap in the wider strategy, not just in education but also in the health sector, is in that one-to-one support. Organisations like Headstrong, which is doing amazing work with initiatives like Jigsaw, are working with schools in partnership and helping to give young people access to counselling, but Headstrong is still rolling out a programme and there are many counties it has not been able to reach yet. That is the big gap and I would like to see the Minister address it, both within education as well as by taking the issue up with the Minister for Health. It is not acceptable that when a young person presents with a mental health difficulty they cannot actually get help. We are always telling young people to talk, to ask for help and to seek support, yet when they or their families seek it, they cannot get it. I have a concern about the resources behind this.

I very much welcome the initiative. I commend the Minister on the personal priority he has given to bullying and to youth mental health. I assure him that he has our fullest support on this side of the House. I will take up his challenge about making local parents aware of the training initiatives and helping to promote the work that is being done.