Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Education (Welfare) (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2012. Bullying is an issue that has not been far from the headlines in the past year. We have seen a number of tragic incidents related to bullying in schools and cyber bullying. In my day at school, a person who was being bullied could go home and get away from it and did not have to face it at the weekend. Unfortunately today there is no escape from bullying because of social media, Facebook and Twitter. It continues outside school which makes it even more difficult to deal with for the person on the receiving end of the bullying behaviour.

Most schools are proactive on the issue of bullying; it is on the agenda of most schools which have robust policies in place. In this legislation I would be wary of the role envisaged for the board of management in section 3. As has been outlined, voluntary boards of management would have a difficult time in dealing with bullying in the manner outlined. A system under which the principal would outline at regular meetings what was happening in the school in order that the board of management would be fully informed would be a better one and easier to manage for voluntary board members.

Bullying is no longer being tolerated, but there is a reliance on individuals to ensure policies are implemented within schools. If the principal is focused on the issue of bullying and being proactive in dealing with it, the school is normally good at dealing with it. However, we must put a system in place that does not rely on individual principals or members of staff to ensure policies are enacted and implemented as strongly as possible to protect all children. The bullies must also be worked with to ensure they understand why their behaviour is not appropriate and should not continue. The Minister is to publish guidelines on bullying, but we should find a system that would not rely on individuals being proactive to ensure their implementation. As people retire or move on, the policies must continue to the benefit of the whole school environment.

I commend Sinn Féin for introducing the Bill which I will support.

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