Eamonn Coghlan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second the motion, which I welcome. I also welcome the Minister to the House. I have been in the House for approximately 18 months and every day I attend, I hear stories about child abuse, the banks in trouble, the debt people are enduring, the economy, suicide, unemployment and drug and alcohol abuse. It seems day after day, session after session, our society is dealing with an endless number of social problems. It appears there is a bleak future but, at the same time, when I put on the blinkers, I can identify a great deal of good happening in our society through sports, art and entertainment. The recent deaths of the two young girls in counties Leitrim and Donegal and that of the Irish girl in Connecticut only last year have highlighted cyberbullying and the devastation it is causing for the families and communities who have to deal with it. Cyberbullying is the silent destroyer, as it destroys individuals and families.

Bullying is nothing new; it is even mentioned in the Bible. It goes back to the early days of our Lord. We have physical and psychological bullying and now we have cyberbullying. There is no single clear profile of a bully. Bullies are young, old, men, women, children and leaders in our society. It crosses all genders, age, race and creeds. Do people bully because of jealousy or insecurity? Does it give them power or make them feel better? Do they do it out of fear or are they looking for attention to address an underlying problem they might have? Do they realise the devastation they cause for other people at the click of a finger?

I know what it is like to be bullied. I was bullied growing up on the streets of Drimnagh where I was afraid of my life to go outside the hall door day after day, night after day for fear I would be attacked. The top of a petrol can came crashing through the window and split my mother's head having been thrown by young bullies trying to get at me because they were jealous. I was bullied in school. I was beaten relentlessly and I missed school for months on end because I was bullied not by a student but by a teacher. I was bullied in the business community. I am aware of the despair I suffered following those experiences over the years but the one thing I had going for me was I was able to speak to somebody about it. I spoke to my parents and I spoke to my coaches at the time.

The young people enduring cyberbullying have nowhere to go. It is the silent destroyer. Bullying is repeated verbal, physical and psychological aggression perpetrated by individuals and groups against individuals and groups. We have all grown up being slagged but there is a big difference between being slagged and being bullied. One can overcome being slagged because it will make one resilient, tough and aggressive but cyberbullying, the silent destroyer, is evil and faceless. We welcomed information technology, IT, into the 21st century, particularly in the context of commerce and communications. For example, we can talk to our sons, daughters and other family members around the world. The problem with IT nowadays is accessibility to the Internet through mobile phones, smartphones text messaging, FaceTime, Bebo and Ask.fm.

Children are now engaging in society in ways previously unimagined. We need a serious look at how to regulate the industry, including legalising it. We are looking for parental and legal responsibility and for responsibility in the industry. From recent research, I realise that 25% of children in primary school are on Facebook. Some of them are as young as eight years old, yet Facebook policy is that one must be 13 years of age to sign up. Where is the regulation?