Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

In any event, both the VEC and the Department upheld the appeal, and it made no difference at all. The issue raised by the parent pertained to the conditions attached to the appeal at the VEC level, which the student won. The parent did not like the conditions and went to the Department. In both cases, the appeal was upheld.

Not all schools have the required policies in place. They certainly did not have them prior to a couple of years ago, which was the reason we did as the Senator asked and posted templates on our website for schools. All the schools have to do is personalise the templates and agree them with students, staff and parents. In this day and age, students need to know and sign up to policies on bullying and behaviour for the sake of protecting both schools and students. If schools set out such policies, everybody is protected. In the event of a serious incident leading to an expulsion and appeal, this legislation provides for fair and balanced criteria which will ensure the rights of all the students are protected. The issues of the past to which the Senator referred will no longer arise because these criteria are set out in the Bill.