Feargal Quinn (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister and this debate, which I have found very educational. I am pleased the Minister is in the chair and believe he can make something happen.

Could we introduce some new ideas in schools? Could we ask a group of students to act as safety teams in order to teach other students about bullying and its dangers. They rather than the teachers could set parameters and decide how to spread an anti-bullying message. Schools have the social, personal and health education programme, but I am not sure we are doing enough to give people the tools to fight bullying. Could we bolster the subject of bullying? We should examine ways to strengthen young people's self-esteem and resilience and help them deal with challenging situations in schools. Bullying is so prevalent in schools but we have to make it completely taboo. How can we do that? Should we circulate questionnaires on bullying? Should students be screened for their risk of suicide? My questions are unpleasant but they must be asked. It could save lives. The US Surgeon General has suggested that screening to detect those at risk of suicide may be one of the most effective means of preventing suicide in children and adolescents through mediums such as questionnaires. It is interesting that studies undertaken in this area, asking schools or asking about screening for suicide, does not appear to increase the number of suicides.

We must also remember that teachers may be subjected to insulting or bullying behaviour online by students. Is there a place for teachers to report such behaviour? Are some teachers scared to report it in case he or she is perceived as weak? Do all school principals listen to such complaints? We need to establish a procedure where parents can be contacted if such messages are made public.

Employers must take this issue very seriously.

It is also positive to see that rules on inappropriate Facebook contact or texting students are to be added to the professional code of conduct for teachers. The state of Missouri in the United States has gone further and has completely prohibited social networking between teachers and students. Perhaps this has a simple limiting effect on the issue of inappropriate behaviour between students and teachers, including bullying.

Businesses focus on results. I would like to see schools do the same. They should be assessed on how they are making progress in this area. It is no good implementing activities ad hoc. The Government needs to standardise the measurements. In a more general sense, new research has shown that cyberbullying is as common in the workplace as conventional bullying. It is not limited to children. In the United Kingdom scientists found that eight out of ten people had experienced some form of cyberbullying at least once in the previous six months. Furthermore, almost one in five stated they had experienced it on a weekly basis or more often, which is considered a similar rate to conventional bullying. The study found that:

Overall, those who had experienced cyberbullying tended to have higher mental strain and lower job satisfaction. In one of our surveys, this effect was shown to be worse for cyberbullying than for conventional bullying.

Employers have an obligation to address this issue. Perhaps referring to someone online, without their permission, could be an issue to be included in codes of conduct.

There is a problem with anonymity on certain websites that allows the bully to hide. A recent suicide case highlighted that problem. I think that regulation on this in terms of those under 18 years has a big part to play in ensuring bullies cannot get away with it.

How does a parent identify if his or her child is a bully? Parents must be given the tools to enable them to ask their child if he or she has ever done anything online to hurt or to upset anyone. They have to understand the importance of emphasising that being cruel to other children and taking part in an activity that could hurt them is wrong. How do we encourage parents to address this challenge?

I am glad the Minister is examining legislation in this area. I welcome the Government's progress. I am glad to be able to contribute to the debate. I am very pleased the debate has taken place and congratulate those who tabled the motion and the others who got involved in the debate. By drawing attention to this issue, we may be able to help the Minister achieve success.