Mr. John Curtis:

On the points made by Ms O'Dwyer and Mr. Mulconry, we have been calling for wrap-around services for pupils in our schools for a long time and we have those external supports to help people at the school level. That is very important as we move forward in this area. As there is so much pressure on CAMHS and NEPS, we should identify what we need, including outside agencies to help schools in this arena. From my reading of the matter, three elements have been mentioned.

A safety commissioner would be very significant. I suppose the big issue we have is chasing technology companies about the right to erasure and information that is held online. Perhaps we could even have a point of quick contact. I know there is a hotline that can be used and we can report highly problematic online material but we need to be able to engage with online issues very quickly. That is why an online commissioner would be useful.

We have spoken about supports that schools would need in the context of counsellors and therapists etc. I am curious about the comments from the children's ombudsman about the pathfinder project and what that might entail in the context of a liaison between different Departments and how they might support schools in this arena. There is much work that could be done.

I am a bit conflicted on the question of data and I go back to the question of language and the number of bullying cases. How we couch such matters is important and we must be as positive as we can about everything that is going on at a school level. I do not have an answer, by the way, although I have been thinking for the past few days about what other type of language would be used. It is a difficult space but we must all reflect on this while being as positive as we can about the environments that comprise our schools now in order that we can build on that. There are personnel in schools who do marvellous work in the area and they should feel supported rather than impinged upon in the context of what is being asked of them.