Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to tackle bullying in schools; if he will outline in particular his plans to deal with homophobic bullying; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2635/13]

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide an update on the work of the working group on tackling bullying; if he has received an action plan from the working group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2634/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 133 and 150 together. The Deputy may be aware that I asked the anti-bullying working group to submit its report and draft action plan to me by 30 November. The working group met this deadline and I was satisfied at that time with the progress it made. The working group identified a number of tasks that needed to be completed before finalising the plan and it continued to work on this project throughout December and the early part of January. I am pleased to say that I will be publishing the report and action plan on Thursday this week and I will be outlining my response at that time. I assure the Deputy that I am committed to taking real action on this issue.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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The action plan is to be welcomed as work has been needed in this area for some time. There is a bullying issue regarding social media and computer communications. I am not as au fait with computers as my children are, and this problem is shared by many parents, so perhaps we must educate parents in dealing with such issues. Bullying probably still goes on in the school yard and teachers are probably under more pressure now because they have fewer resources. Will the action plan on bullying advise schools on how to help victims deal with bullying, as there is much focus on encouraging schools to record bullying incidents and parents to regulate Internet usage? Will some of the €500,000 budget for the initiative go to counselling or support for victims and will somebody sit down with these kids to address the bullying content? There should be an open discussion about the fact that there is nothing wrong with being gay or looking different to one's peers. One should even be allowed wear long hair or a pink shirt. Kids can become victims of harassment.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Is the Deputy being bullied?

Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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Is he bullied?

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Deputies will be delighted to hear that I am not being bullied, not even by the media. The role of a bully must be taken on before one can be bullied.

Michael Kitt (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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This is Question Time and I am not bullying the Deputy either.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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Not even about the colour of his shirt.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Neither the Leas-Cheann Comhairle nor I can comment on the length of Deputy Wallace's hair. This is a significant document and I am very pleased that the work done by the working group will be published on Thursday. I invite the House to consider debating the document or just perusing it. It is not the final answer and I do not know if there will ever be a final answer to the problem. Nevertheless, it is a significant advance on what was done before and the guidelines have not been revised in the past 20 years. The issue of homophobic bullying was not addressed in that context but it has been now. We have come to understand cyber-bullying as a 24/7 nightmare for some people, as bullying in the school yard, to which the Deputy referred, could at least be escaped. The issue will not go away and it requires much education and understanding right across the social and generational spectrum.

Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent)
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Does the Minister agree that counselling is a significant element of this issue? It could mean much to the kids who are victims of bullying. With cuts to guidance counsellors, we should surely provide more detail on that area.

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Time prevents me from doing so now but counselling will be part and parcel of the measures. That feeds into the earlier question on guidance counsellors and the question of pastoral care in second level schools. The issue is embodied in part by the new proposals for junior cycle reform, with an aim of helping young people to be conscious of their own well-being and minding themselves. Those issues were never mainstreamed in the past but we will do so in the reformed curriculum of the junior cycle.