Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I thank the Senators for bringing forward these draft Bills. Having introduced Private Members' Bills previously, I know they involve a great deal of work and I very much appreciate the work they have put into bringing them forward.

Health and safety in our schools is an important issue. A large number of young people attend preschools, primary and secondary schools. Health and safety is an important aspect of that process with respect to the management and care of our students. I have concerns about the legislation the placing legal obligations on members of the teaching community. The Teaching Council Act 2001 deals with forward planning and continued upskilling of those in the teaching profession. Under the existing legislation, it is not mandatory for teachers to attend professional development training but the vast majority of teachers do. We must be careful about imposing a new set of rules on a profession that has delivered well for this country over many years.

Coming from a legal background, I have a concern about the aspects of the Bill regarding whether it will create a new expectation that teachers should have skills way beyond their teaching portfolio. That is one of the concerns I have when an proposal such as this one is put into a legislative framework. While every school should have a policy on dealing with issues regarding safety and the care of children, particularly on the way they would respond in the event of an accident, schools have a process and a procedure for dealing with that.

Mental health is another important area. Teachers have expertise in identifying those they believe are under pressure at home, in school or from friends. A great deal of work has been done in this area within schools during the past ten to 15 years, without the necessity of introducing legislation. Schools are proactive, especially in dealing with the issue of bullying in a comprehensive way, but they do not always get the results that we would like. That is no fault of the teaching profession or the boards of management of schools.

The legislation needs to be teased out further. There is a question over whether the proposals should be contained in one Bill, as opposed to two Bills, and that needs to be examined and discussed. We will not, however, oppose these Bills. It is important that we debate them and go through the advantages and the disadvantages of bringing these proposals forward.

The Department of Education and Skills, the teachers' unions and all those in the educational system have worked hard on this issue and in dealing with the new pressures faced by students on daily basis. That has changed substantially. During the past five years, social media have led to significant change and teachers have adapted well. A number of schools have invited parents in to deal with the new challenges of social media. That shows the way they have responded to that challenge without the need for legislation.

Overall, while I welcome this debate and the bringing forward of draft legislation, this proposal needs to be teased out further to see how we would go forward with it. I thank Members for dealing with the issue and bringing this legislation before the House.