Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I welcome all our speakers and thank them for their submissions, which I read carefully. As I read through them I found things that I strongly endorse as well as some things with which I disagree with equal enthusiasm. It is probably the case that we need more than six minutes to hear ourselves out fully.

What struck me most was that I strongly endorse the need to focus more on the issue of teenage suicide. We all have to be careful how we speak about the topic. Importantly, the Teachers' Union of Ireland draws the link between the unacceptable waiting list for a first appointment with the HSE child and adolescent mental health services and the fact that Ireland has the fourth highest incidence of teenage suicide in the European Union.

Reference was made to a staffing problem. Of all the things I have seen I would put that close to the top, if not at the top. It is a remarkable statement around our society that we have such a major social threat but that we are so behind in resourcing the problem.

I note what the Irish Second-Level Students' Union said. The union talked rightly about the strong referral system that is imperative to lower rates of self-harm, suicidal ideation and suicide among students. That is important and I am keen to join the ISSU in putting the stress on that.

Where I disagree with several of the submissions is in the attempt to draw a causal link between relationship and sexuality education as it now stands where it does not meet the aspirations of some students, parents or representative groups and the problem of bullying. I believe we need to think that out more carefully.

From my point of view the Christian gospel proposes a message of unconditional love. However, in all areas of life, including, but not confined to sexuality, there is often a challenge as well. The history of Irish education has provided much of the inspiration and rationalisation of so much that we take for granted as being necessary for an education system, especially in the whole area of inclusion. One thinks of the outreach in the developing world and outreach to people with disabilities.

I come from a generation whereby I witnessed children with intellectual disabilities being beaten in my school, so I am not claiming anything. We have come a long way in many areas. Yet, as long as there are free and thinking people in our society the ethics around human sexuality will be contested. There are people who have what one might call a traditional Christian view - even non-believers may have a traditional view around human sexuality - and who propose that in education respectfully with the support of parents. They do not simply see sexuality in recreational terms. They see it in terms of human beings honouring each other. It seems that those people are among the greatest allies in the fight against bullying. There is a real danger of demonising them if we portray their ideas and values as somehow causative of bullying. Far more work needs to be done there and I would invite comments from the representatives present on that.

The last thing I would invite comments on from the representatives is something I have mentioned to various contributors in recent weeks. Are we talking enough about building resilience among students in respect of bullying? I have heard much about the need to promote upstanding and about getting people to stand up when they witness or encounter bullying against a third party, and I am all for that. I believe in building resilience in helping young people to understand what is happening to them and not to let it cripple them, as it were, and to help them to be strong enough to push back against that. That is an important area of endeavour but it is not being given enough attention by those who are working and speaking about combatting bullying. I have used up four minutes. I would be delighted to hear what the representatives have to say and to continue this conversation at some other point.