Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Dublin North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to speak on bullying. I commend Sinn Féin for bringing forward this Bill and for affording us this opportunity to discuss it. Much emphasis has been put on cyberbullying, but it is still bullying. Suggesting getting rid of Facebook, Twitter and the Internet as well as taking mobile telephones off every child and teenager will not change the fact that homophobia existed before Twitter, as did racism and discrimination against Travellers. We must get to the real issue involved in bullying, which is a lack of self esteem on the part of the bully and those who engage in bullying behaviour, and also define properly what bullying is. Bullying is not a once-off occasion of a person falling out with another person. It is a sustained, persistent and negative behaviour, a dominant behaviour of one over another. Parents must understand that.

Teachers are generally doing an excellent job in tackling bullying in their classrooms and schools. As has correctly been said, it is a whole-school approach. However, children do not live in schools. Society must understand that. Often we say "if only the teachers taught them in schools" about whatever the social ill of the day is, but children do not live in the schools. Parents must understand that teachers can only achieve a limited amount. Bullying before school, after school and at the weekend is not within the remit of the teacher. Parents must also accept that if they are confronted with the realisation that their child is engaged in bullying behaviour, they should not take that as an indication of poor parenting. A child can be bullied, react to that in a particular type of way and turn into a bully or engage in bullying behaviour. That is not a reflection of bad parenting but sometimes the way these things work out. In my experience, however, parents often find it very difficult to accept that their children are engaged in bullying behaviour and it is therefore very difficult to tackle it properly.

A number of great initiatives are under way in the school system. I commend the Irish Traveller Movement on its yellow flag programme, which celebrates diversity, Traveller identity, multiculturalism and sexual identity. Schools can initiate such programmes. We do not necessarily need to be overly negative about what it is happening in schools. Much of what it is happening is positive but we have a culture of humiliation in our society. There is a drive in media and political circles to humiliate and make somebody feel he or she is worthless. If that is a societal issue, we have to address it as such. The Government's proposals, which will be released by the Minister for Education and Skills on Thursday, will be the start of that process but we, as a society, have to reassess how we view people with different identities.

I do not know about blaming the method by which people bully each other. There have to be tough constraints on how children can access the Internet, as Deputy Mitchell O'Connor alluded to, but pupils have anonymously posted comments about other pupils on toilet walls in schools forever.

While I commend Sinn Féin's attempt to bring this issue to the floor to the House and to open it up for discussion, the Bill has flaws. I refer to the proposal for the board of management to have one designated person to deal with bullying complaints and to initiate an investigation into such complaints within three days. That is almost unworkable. The significant work engaged by the Minister should be acknowledged.

Acknowledging what is bullying is a societal issue and we must face up to it as a society rather than leaving it to teachers and parents. The school is not the only forum in which bullying needs to be tackled.

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