Frank Feighan (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the growing and worrying trend of youth self-harm and youth suicide, his plans to develop a policy to deal with the growth of social media in education and in particular the use of mobile phones, smart phones, i-pads and laptops during the normal school day; if he has examined the problem of cyber bullying, cyber abuse and the transmission of material including photographs by young persons in an unsupervised, uncontrolled and unacceptable way; in view of his policy to have high speed broadband available in most schools within a short period of time, his views on whether a national policy is required in relation to the use, abuse and misuse of social media in education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42810/12]

Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the growing and worrying trend of youth self-harm and youth suicide, his plans to develop a policy to deal with the growth of social media in education and in particular the use of mobile phones, smart phones, i-pads and laptops during the normal school day; if he has examined the problem of cyber bullying, cyber abuse and the transmission of material including photographs by young persons in an unsupervised, uncontrolled and unacceptable way; in view of his policy to have high speed broadband available in most schools within a short period of time, his views on whether a national policy is required in relation to the use, abuse and misuse of social media in education [42648/12]

Pat Deering (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in view of the growing and worrying trend of youth self-harm and youth suicide, his plans to develop a policy to deal with the growth of social media in education and in particular the use of mobile phones, smart phones, i-pads and laptops during the normal school day; if he has examined the problem of cyber bullying, cyber abuse and the transmission of material including photographs by young persons in an unsupervised, uncontrolled and unacceptable way; in view of his policy to have high speed broadband available in most schools within a short period of time, his views on whether a national policy is required in relation to the use, abuse and misuse of social media in education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42647/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 80, 81 and 90 together.

My Department is strongly supportive of the integration of ICT tools and techniques into teaching practice. My Department's ICT in schools programme sets out a clear agenda to be pursued in this regard and schools are very much encouraged to plan for the integration of ICT into teaching practice.

It is, however, important for all of us to be vigilant and alert to the potential risks associated with the use and misuse of modern technologies. In this context, individual schools have the capacity to filter the content of what is accessible through the Schools Broadband Network. This allows teachers to use the Internet for teaching and learning in a manner that reduces the risk of pupils accessing inappropriate content. My Department also funds the Webwise initiative which focuses on raising the skills and understanding around Internet safety at school and in the home.

The Deputy will be aware that tackling the issue of bullying in schools is a key objective of this Government. It was for that reason that an Anti-Bullying Forum was held earlier this year.

As a follow on to that Forum, I invited the stakeholders and any other interested parties to submit their views on this important topic to my Department by 29th June 2012. As part of this consultation, interested parties were requested to indicate their views and proposals on any changes to existing practices and policies in schools that could improve how bullying can be tackled in schools.

I have also recently established a working group to address the issue of tackling bullying in schools, including cyber-bullying. During the course of its work, the working group will be considering the outcomes from the Anti-Bullying Forum and the views received from interested parties in the subsequent consultation process.