Mr. Hugh Ahern:

I would not really talk about the topic of mental health with my peers, but as somebody who has served on an advisory panel for an organisation involved with youth mental health I believe that there is a need for more counselling services in Ireland. Teachers and school staff are not trained. They do not get professional training on how to deal with bullying. How teachers deal with bullying is more from personal experience. I was just looking through the Department of Education's protocol and there is very little in it. It is a sheet of paper that the teacher has to fill out on bullying. The victim should be referred on to a proper counselling service or an in-school counsellor. Bullying is something that lasts for people. It is something that will never really go away. It may remove the moral confidence. In my report of the key results in the submission, I included the effects of bullying. Depression and anxiety is another effect of bullying. There are increased feelings of sadness and loneliness, changes in sleep and eating and permanent loss of interest in activity. Children find that they cannot enjoy activities that much. There is a need for a better service where it is needed.