Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the delegation for their presentations. I attended the ISPCC conference and it was most enlightening. One could nearly make a road-show of it. I was there not only in my role as my party's children's rights spokesperson but also as a parent, and I found it very informative as the guest speakers were outstanding.

The ISPCC representatives are right in saying that teachers and gardaí have a major role to play in this matter. Being a mother of three, I suppose I am up to speed on everything that has been said. I am approaching this from the parents' angle in seeking to find how we can overcome these challenges.

Just after Christmas, the PSNI published 100 abbreviations they were experiencing in Northern Ireland. Has the ISPCC had any engagement with An Garda Síochána to do something similar? I have telephoned the Garda but has the ISPCC also made a request in this regard? While the PSNI is doing this in the North, parents in the South would like to see what are the top 100 three-letter analogues it is using.

What is the ISPCC's view on the use of mobile phones in schools? Do the witnesses believe in time-out during the school day? One Minister has said that he understands the need for such phones in the classroom so that students can check things, but I thought that was the role of the white board. However, I would like to hear the ISPCC's view on the role of mobile phones in school.

On the question of the providers, such as Vodaphone, Eir, Samsung or iPhone, last summer I wanted to put a time-limit on the phone so that a child could only use it for an hour. I wanted to set that limit on the phone's hard-drive. That could be done on older version of mobile phones, but not on the newer models. Has the ISPCC been in contact with any phone providers about this? I compliment the Vodaphone network because one can change a password remotely, but parents are unaware that they can do so. I can do it when I am up here or at home when my children have access to the phone from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. That facility should be common knowledge, however, and be easily accessible to all. Parents need help and support with such matters.

Ms O'Sullivan was right to say that pressure is coming from peers, while the parent is seen as an oddball who has not got a clue. In fact, however, parents need to hold on to that control. If they have the controls to do so, we will be moving in the right direction but phone providers need to help parents also.