Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. It strikes me that the problem of bullying is often, sadly, related to what children are experiencing at home. We need to recognise that problematic home lives lead to problematic behaviour in schools. This illustrates the complexity of the problem we have. I have a particular memory of a very impressive school principal in my life who spotted something going on in the classroom with a child at a young age who had prominent ears or something like that. I remember her saying that she would come down like a ton of bricks on anybody who picked on anybody else. It strikes me there is a need to keep matters simple and we must recognise that bullying is a moral issue. Bullying is wrong.

One school principal of whom I am aware operates a three-part formula, saying that bullying is wrong, that one needs to be strong and that one should not leave it too long. He means by this that from the get-go he imparts a strong moral message that bullying is not fair and that it is wrong to pick on somebody, whether it is because of a perception of sexuality or whatever else. He emphasises that the need to be strong is about the building of resilience and children must be helped to see that they can change other people's behaviour in a more positive direction.

The third part, namely, that one should not leave it too long, involves acting quickly and posing questions to parents. For example, parents should consider if their children are too young to be given smartphones. Very often, some of these problems manifest when it is too late for some parents to have considered the necessary strategies that would have prevented them arising in the first place. I am interested in hearing views on that formula. Could steps be taken to increase parents' knowledge of common apps, programmes, social media platforms and particularly the dangers they pose to children? It seems the education of parents is a key part of all this.

The scoping note sent to the committee mentions building resilience in children and young people. We must take every step to prevent bullying in all its forms from occurring but we can look at what happens in the adult world with social media and the likes of Twitter, etc. We can see nastiness and toxic behaviour is not just experienced in childhood. Perhaps it is another reason we must focus on building resilience. As much as we try to work on this in schools, people will face challenges in real life.

Are the witnesses familiar with restorative practice courses in schools, particularly with regard to mediation, as mentioned by Senator Dolan? This is about dealing with schoolyard incidents involving elements of bullying and so on. Is the practice widespread or useful? Will the witnesses comment on such courses?

There is a big debate about identity politics and there are concerns about politics coming into this issue. Bullying is a moral issue and it is a question of how we treat each other. It will ultimately be a stronger approach than seeing this as a legal issue, although we must look at mechanisms. There is a very difficult issue of transpersons and schools will have different views and philosophies. The evidence is not in with many of these areas. We must be careful not to politicise these matters when the strategies we need to combat bullying may be much simpler. Whether a child is being bullied about perceptions of his or her sexuality, body features or as a result of slow learning or a stammer, the same thing is in play and, in a sense, there to be tackled.

I am concerned when I hear one particular reason for bullying because I wonder if it distracts from the need to realise that bullying takes many forms, with each form as bad as the next. I would welcome the thoughts of the witnesses on that matter.