Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)

I welcome the Minister's response, arising from which I have further questions. Many schools are frustrated with section 29 of the Education Act 1998. I am aware that the Minister is awaiting the report of the task force but has she given any consideration to this issue in the interim? Some schools are forced to take students who have been previously expelled, which leads to a situation where students believe they can behave however they wish because the sanctions that can be applied are limited. Does the Minister plan to bring forward any legislative changes to section 29?

Dr. Maria Lawlor estimated that approximately 15% of second-level students are being bullied. The Minister will be aware that it was recently estimated that up to €3 billion is being lost to the Irish economy due to absenteeism and poor productivity arising from bullying. This behaviour is often learned in school yards and continues in later life.

Has the Minister given any further consideration to the establishment of a national anti-bullying programme? The people who work on these matters in Trinity College believe that such a programme, which would not be particularly expensive to establish, could reduce the aforementioned 15% figure. Pilot programmes have been shown to be successful and I ask the Minister to consider their expansion.

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