John O'Mahony (Mayo, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to contribute briefly to this debate. I thank Deputy O'Brien and Sinn Féin for bringing it forward. I am also aware that the Minister will launch his action plan on Thursday, which I welcome. He and the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Deputy Frances Fitzgerald, have been proactive in this area. A total of €500,000 in funding has been put in place to implement the action plan.

As a former secondary school teacher, I have seen many forms of bullying over the years, be it in classrooms, schoolyards, playgrounds and pitches. It was easier to deal with because it was visible, verbal or physical. It happened in view of the teacher or supervisor and from that point of view it was easier to nip it in the bud and come to the aid of the student being bullied. Obviously, we are all grasping with the social media, as has been evident in the last few months, and how to deal with it there, be it on Facebook, Twitter or texting. It is secret, silent and difficult to detect. Furthermore, it is a 24 hour per day event in which the victim is persecuted, often silently and with tragic consequences as we are all too aware. Regardless of whether it is this Bill or the action plan, what we need in the short term is a unified, identifiable and implementable approach to dealing with this, whereby the student or person being bullied is comfortable with accessing help at short notice without fear of recrimination.

I read the Bill earlier today. In a school, the big issue is students bullying students. However, there are other relationships in the classroom and I have often seen instances of students bullying teachers. That is obviously not the major issue but it is one that must be identified, because it can wreck people's careers as well. With all these telephones in classrooms there can be consequences for teachers. I mention that because it is another area to be considered. This issue is developing so fast it is hard to get ahead of the curve but that is one issue that must be dealt with at some stage.

There are many organisations that are doing great work for people who feel threatened by bullying by offering counselling. There are also suicide awareness groups. However, perhaps there are too many. Many of them have great qualities but there must be some way to co-ordinate them as well. When I was preparing for this debate I found out about GRASP Life Foundation, which has a new android telephone app. Younger people are adept at using social media and perhaps this is something that could be used very positively. They could get help very quickly if they download this on their telephone.

These are just a few random thoughts on the issue. It is a very important issue and I welcome the debate. Ultimately, we must get to grips with this issue, regardless of whether it is through a Bill or the action plan. It can be done by working together.

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