Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael)
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On the action plan on bullying, when leaving the role as Chair of this committee in the next Dáil or at the end of this Dáil or whatever, I can say that one thing or issue on which this committee has done a very good job is the action plan for bullying. I personally compliment the Minister and her Department for being champions on this issue and for taking on the committee's report and its importance. It is a significant issue in both primary and post-primary schools, especially online bullying, on phones and everything like that.

On that issue, most schools - I do not know what percentage but the Minister may be able to say - confiscate the phones when the pupils come in in the morning and they receive them back in the evening. There are still quite a number of schools which still do not remove the phone from students. Speaking to principals, vice principals, teachers and students alike, a great amount of that online bullying after schools stops because of the removal of phones. This puts a message in pupils' heads that, yes, they might carry on with online bullying after school, it is still going on, but I think the situation has improved. Students are more aware of it now than they might have been in the past. Can the Minister direct schools or is it the case that she just encourages schools to confiscate the phones from students in the mornings and they are then given back to them in the evenings? It is very simply done because I know that my own daughter has started secondary school this year. The phone is put into a pouch and the pouch is released later. I am unsure if there is a cost to that where some schools are not doing that. I am not sure what percentage of schools are confiscating phones. Does the Minister know the figure? Is there anything that we can do to encourage more schools to do that?