Joanna Tuffy (Labour)

Yesterday was the 61st birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of the National League for Democracy in Burma and Nobel peace prize winner. She has been detained under house arrest by the Burmese military for the past three years and has been detained for nearly 11 years overall by the same regime. Can the Acting Leader inquire as to whether there is anything this House can do to put pressure on the relevant authorities to have Aung San Suu Kyi released? She is being detained because she has the popular support of the people of Burma. We have the benefit of living in a democratic country and the Leader of this House is a woman. We, as Members of the Seanad, could make representations to the Burmese authorities and also to the United Nations to help bring about her release.

Today's Irish Examiner has a front page report on a study carried out by Trinity College's anti-bullying centre. It measures the levels of bullying in primary schools and the figures are alarmingly high. The study covered over 2,000 pupils in a number of counties, the nationwide study is yet to be conducted, and it found that almost one in five girls and more than one in three boys have been physically attacked in the past three months. Approximately 20% of girls and 30% of boys have been bullied in this period. The report suggests that new forms of bullying are emerging, for example one in ten pupils has been victim of bullying by text message over the past three months. This is an important issue as, if it starts at primary school level, it could be very difficult to eradicate. We have brought in reforms to deal with issues such as bullying in the workplace, the Defence Forces and so on. It is important that we deal with bullying at its roots especially in the case of young children and take whatever actions are necessary to address the issue. The Department of Education and Science formed a task force to report on the issue which made recommendations earlier this year, however, Mr. Stephen Minton, who carried out the study with Trinity College was pessimistic about these recommendations and is reported as saying many would remain unaddressed. I hope this is not the case and I would like the Minister for Education and Science to debate the issue in this House at her earliest convenience.

I support Senator Brian Hayes's comments on the joint policing committees and I point out that Oireachtas Members will be entitled to sit on these committees which is important because we have a national and local viewpoint. To give credit where it is due, Senator Terry Leyden was the first person to question the fact that Oireachtas Members were originally not included and amendments in this House ensured they would be. This is a very important initiative by the Minister and he must ensure it is implemented nationwide as soon as possible.