Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for her reply. I wish to clarify one point in respect of the strategy. Did the Minister state that it obliges schools? Sadly, the evidence suggests that the address of this issue is most often down to the individual penchant of the school principal. We need something a good deal stronger to provide for where there is not sufficient or worthwhile compliance to what amounts only to a request. We need to make this central to our address of this serious problem.

I recognise that youth mental health is a critical issue that impinges not only on the wellbeing of young people in their young lives but it will impact them throughout their lifetimes. We have seen not only the tragedies to which the Minister referred but some high profile international instances, not least the case of Phoebe Prince, a young Irish girl who died tragically in the United States, and the most recent case highlighted in County Leitrim. Many lives have been seriously stunted, impaired or crippled by these experiences. We will never know the real number of tragically lost lives attributable to school bullying. Many of the situations where young lives are lost do not highlight the issues and it is not easy to establish the backdrop to the series of tragic incidents that present throughout this island on almost a weekly basis.

The Minister indicated she was taking an initiative in conjunction with the Minister for Education and Skills. How does the Minister propose to progress it? Will there be any examination of international best practice? The Scandinavian countries are often pointed to as good global examples but there are also examples here at home. Has there been any consideration of them? The Minister made mention of the anti-bullying centre in Trinity College, Headstrong and Dr. Tony Bates, who recently addressed Deputies.

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