Dominic Hannigan (Meath East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have only a couple of minutes to speak on the issue because of the high level of demand from Deputies to speak, which can only be a good sign. Too many young people in this country are affected by bullying every day and we must do something about it. Although we will vote against the Bill tonight I agree with the idea behind it. We must stop bullying in schools and elsewhere.

The Government and the Labour Party are well aware of that and are committed to doing something about it. In our election manifesto we agreed that we would tackle homophobic bullying in schools and we brought the commitment through to our negotiations with Fine Gael and it is now in the programme for Government. The Minister for Education and Skills set up a working group on bullying last year in order to introduce a new approach to tackling bullying in schools.

From speaking to parents in Kells, students in Dunshaughlin and teachers in Ratoath, bullying is unfortunately present in all schools throughout the country and it is a problem that all of those groups want to do something about. We expect the action plan on bullying to be produced soon. From speaking with organisations that are involved with it I am aware that it is an exciting plan that will make a difference to the lives of young people. In the Gallery there are members of BeLonGTo, one of the organisations that has been working on the plan. I have been working with it in recent years and I have been impressed with the way it has managed to increase the confidence of many young people who, sadly, have experienced bullying. We must work closely with such organisations in the future in order that we introduce measures that will tackle bullying in schools. I must conclude, but I wish the Minister the best with his plan. All of us in this House are united in trying to do something to tackle the issue.

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