Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank all today's witnesses. I am sure they have been listening in to previous sessions. We have done a significant amount of work, as have the witnesses, which goes to show the importance of the kind of work in which they are engaged. What strikes me from listening to some of the statements and some of the responses that have been given is how much more is involved in the education of children than imparting information. For too long we have not had the broadest idea of what education means. I would love to hear the thoughts of the witnesses on what we are imparting to children through these programmes that they can take with them after school, for the rest of their lives, in terms of their mental health and how to have resilience in an ever-changing society. The word "resilience" is overused when it comes to young people because often they, and many of us, are not as resilient as we would like to think. A lot of work goes into it.

What part is played by having good nutrition in schools and ensuring that people are simply fed when they are in school? Behavioural issues can be addressed when we look at how well cared for children are in society. It is not simply a case of going in and being a bully. There is a lot more behind it. We could invest in other kinds of projects rather than simply at the end of the road looking at the bullying and addressing it.