Dr. Niall Muldoon:

I agree completely in regard to the culture in adult society and the fact that the way in which we are showing the way forward is not the way we want it to be. There have been a number of high-profile cases of adults being bullied through the media.

We can think of people such as Caroline Flack. There are situations in which children are very much aware of influencers and the way they can lead to high-profile dangerous situations. We need to take hold of that.

The Deputy is correct in that politics is one of the most dangerous situations because there is an automatic assumption that we are allowed to give out about politics and politicians on a personal basis. We need to change that culture as well. We are not leading from the front well as adults with the way society has developed.

I will bring it down to the school situation. We need to start looking at understanding what bullying is taking place throughout the country. It is a matter of gathering data. If we have 4,000 schools and the Department is only asking how many schools have policies in place, then it is only a box-ticking exercise. Within those schools we need to know how many times there has been a bullying complaint, what the school has done with it, what the issues were and how they were dealt with. Only then can we really start to understand where the issues are coming from. We have had consultations with children where they have highlighted racism as an issue as well as other issues. We need to drill down and know about all of this. That creates a culture of understanding. As Ms O'Malley said, it is about dealing with it on an ongoing basis. This takes into account the issue raised about one-off bullying. Families and children will understand that there is more to it than that.