Jim D'Arcy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Listening to Senator Mark Daly, one would think a double murderer had been found in the home of the Attorney General. The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, announced today that €60,000 is being provided to support the delivery of anti-bullying training sessions for parents. The programme is being run jointly by the National Parents Council Primary and the National Parents Council Post Primary. The training sessions are available nationwide and provide supports to parents to enable them to assist their children when issues of bullying arise. Bullying is not a problem schools can, or should, be left to tackle alone. Parents, families and the wider community have an important role to play in tackling all forms of bullying and in teaching children how to manage relationships. I welcome the extension of the support network, which doubles the 3,279 participants of last year. I hope it can be rolled out to every parent in the country.

The Minister for Education and Skills said that when the financial situation improved, he would consider reinstating, in some way, the positions of guidance counsellors in schools.