Sean Barrett (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister, who has been a frequent attender of the House. His heart is in the right place as regards bullying, as stated by Senators Power and Conway. The Minister will always have our support when dealing with the issues of bullying.

Most cyberbullying is carried out by people who were bullies anyway - we were a bit obsessed by technology when the issue first arose - but that is the nature of bullying. Sometimes the people who bully are found to have emulated, as all children do, the adults in their lives. It is essential in the area for which the Minister has responsibility that teachers, for instance, do not shout or appear to resolve disputes by imposing their larger size on smaller people. That is a serious issue. A love of children and a willingness to be with them and tolerate them when they do things that are wrong must be inherent in teaching. I have wondered about that aspiration. Sometimes, when I saw some of my colleagues at third level being dismissive of students - not bullying - I wondered whether they had realised when they became lecturers that about 90% of the student population would be between 18 and 22 years. I thought it would be a good idea for them to get on with such people because there would be a lot of them around. That outlook applies even more so to younger people.

The Minister may recall that Tony Blair once got into trouble for saying that one could slap a child but only a small slap, or something like that, and got tied up in the issue. It may still be the law that people can slap their own children but such behaviour sets a bad example to children. It is not law in this country.