Fergal Browne (Fine Gael)

I support the call for a debate on bullying in schools, on which the TUI held a conference at the weekend. I have heard appalling stories lately, including one from a primary school concerning a 12 year old pupil who was brought to a Garda station in Carlow by his mother because he was drunk. This 12 year old boasts openly about assaulting accident and emergency unit nurses during the summer. That is what we are dealing with. In a nearby area, two schools were almost set on fire. The system of suspension and expulsion of students seems to have been changed in recent years. The change caters for a minority given that the majority of students are very well behaved. We have procedures in the House to suspend any Member who misbehaves, but that, unfortunately, appears not to be the case in schools. A debate is called for as there is chaos in the system.

I ask the Leader to raise with the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources the coverage of certain news events by the State broadcaster, RTE. We found out at the weekend about the existence of an illegal distillery on the Cooley Peninsula. While I understand there are clear links between the distillery and republican dissidents, RTE failed to mention them in its broadcast. It appears that RTE is afraid to refer to links to republican elements in its coverage of events. We witnessed the difference of approach by RTE and the newspapers in the context of coverage of associates of a Member of the other House. It is a very worrying development. The State broadcaster should be free to comment in the way newspapers do. There is a grave imbalance currently.