Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein)
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There is a lot of focus this afternoon on online safety and cyberbullying, an issue I raised last week. It has never been easy to be a teenager but when I listened to the witnesses, I am very glad I am not a teenager in the 2020s and do not have to navigate all the hazards that exist with social media. I am sure it has many benefits but there are very considerable pitfalls as well.

One of the challenges with cyberbullying is the fact that in many instances, the students will always be more aware of and familiar with the platforms, the culture relating to the platforms, the games and all the rest. This can be a bit intimidating for organisations and responsible people who might not be familiar with them. What are the key principles of how someone deals with an incident or series of incidents? How does someone ensure he or she deals with them even if he or she is not that familiar with the platforms being used because there will always be something new? Things will always change and evolve. How can one ensure that a school or any kind of organisation stays ahead of that? Is there a role for constantly consulting the young people involved to ensure they stay ahead of that?

My next question is for the Children's Rights Alliance. There has been discussion recently about relationships and sexuality education; social, personal and health education; and the variety, to put it kindly, in respect of the curriculum. Speaking more frankly, some of the content being taught in our schools is not appropriate. I imagine the alliance believes the reform of that is vitally important but is the lack of uniform policy a contributor to a culture of "othering" and exclusion in some schools?