Brendan Ryan (Labour)

It is an institutional abuse. Will the Leader raise the matter with the Ceann Comhairle? The other House should be informed that it has no right to order business before this House has disposed of it. We do not do so as a matter of practice.

This morning's Irish Examiner has as harrowing a front page as I have ever seen. It is a half-page reproduction of the last note of a young man who committed suicide, published by his mother. She raises a number of reasonable issues, including matters of underfunding.

In a country that has never offered so many opportunities, choices, possibilities and freedom to young people, there is a need for a debate on the underlying reasons for the increasing number of young people committing suicide. I do not have a solution, but it is concerning that bullying is becoming a national sport. A television programme takes its entertainment value from the fact that certain prominent figures go through a process of ritually humiliating young people who do not meet their standards as entertainers. While the young people choose to be there, a large number of us watch the programme for the gratification that comes from ritualised bullying. We should wonder about our society's value system, such as the sexualisation of young people and the unmitigated bombardment of children of ten years of age with imagery that forces them to develop more rapidly than many of them are able for. The degree to which alcohol penetrates their culture is also a concern.

I will give an example of an unresolved conflict. The most competitive area in terms of radio listenership is the 15 to 25 age group, which is regarded as a single category. Contrast how a 15 year old and a 25 year old see the world. We are forcing the images and experiences of the latter on the former, including alcohol advertising. We are creating an adult world in which 15 year olds must cope. I do not know whether this causes anything, but it is time to have a serious debate on the way in which we have forced our young people to grow into emotional adulthood when they are physically children.