Michael Mullins (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I join in the welcome to the Minister to discuss this important, issue which is exercising the minds of many people. I welcome the fact that there is such cross-party support for the motion as it is a major issue in all our communities. I was present in the AV room for the presentation which was one of the most striking I have seen for a long time and also one of the best attended. The anti-bullying coalition gave us a good insight into its concerns and was complimentary of what the Minister has done so far and also about what, I hope, will come from the working group and may be rolled out in the future.

The presentation by Mr. Jonathan Pugsley was particularly heart-rending. For a man who laid his dear daughter to rest less than eight weeks ago it took some courage to come in and speak to Members about his concerns. He made one telling comment. He said that he and his family were not equipped to see the problem nor was the school or community particularly equipped to see it. That is an issue that will have to be addressed.

Like other Senators, I extend my sympathy to all the families throughout the country who have been devastated by suicide. We all know families, friends, neighbours and constituents who have suffered in this way. There are many causes of suicide. Some have had mental health issues. Some were probably caused by financial pressures or broken relationships, and inevitably bullying, as we have seen in a number of high profile cases recently, particularly that of Ciara Pugsley and Erin Gallagher. It is a huge challenge for society. Bullying, as Senator Eamonn Coghlan and others have alluded to, is not a new phenomenon in schools.

We all remember from our school days instances of weaker or gay students being singled out for physical and psychological abuse. One in four girls and one in six boys are guilty of traditional bullying. The majority of those involved in cyberbullying are also involved in traditional bullying. While we welcome the technological advances, we are aware that uncontrolled bullying has the potential to seriously damage the lives of young people. One incident of cyberbullying has the potential to go global and it leaves a permanent footprint. That is the frightening aspect about the Internet, Facebook and all the other social media outlets. Parents have a responsibility to be aware of who their children are interacting with on social media, websites and mobile phones but in many cases they are ill-equipped to deal with it as technology has gone ahead of them. There is much work to be done to educate parents on the power and dangers of the Internet. The service providers also have a role to play. I do not know how the issue can be controlled but the Government must look at the service providers to ascertain whether they are acting responsibly.

The problem can only be solved by various Departments working together. In this regard education and the health services have a major role to play. Often for a child who has been bullied his or her first interaction will be with somebody within the health service. A doctor, a psychologist or a nurse may become aware of problems being experienced by a child as a result of bullying. There is a need for joined-up thinking between the services. There is a need to heighten awareness.

We have powerful media outlets. In the AV room, somebody alluded to the effectiveness of the Saorview campaign in alerting people to the fact that unless they took certain action their television would not work after 25 October. A similarly high profile campaign is needed to alert people to the dangers and tell-tale signs of bullying. We need to promote a culture among young people of looking out for each other, which is something that can happen within the schools.

Much of the bullying is symptomatic of the social problems in the country. We cannot underestimate the pressures under which vulnerable young people are being put by ruthless people involved in drug dealing. I know of many young people who took their lives because they might have incurred some debts they were unable to meet and pressure was being put on them. We cannot underestimate that and it is something we need to address. While we could debate the problem of suicide forever, there are issues we need to address and that is one of them.