Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the extent to which her Department can address the issues of bullying including cyber bullying outside school hours with particular reference to identification and early warning of such incidents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47107/12]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the position regarding early identification of incidents of bullying intimidation or child abuse outside of school hours; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [47109/12]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 216 and 218 together.

I am aware that children and teenagers are susceptible to bullying which can emanate from a variety of sources and the management of this bullying will need to vary dependant on its severity and the supports available to the children, both the victim and the bully, at home and in the community. An unacceptably high proportion of children have been the subject of some form of bullying, and we know that there have in some cases been tragic consequences.

Bullying in Schools

The Children First: National Guidance for the Protection and Welfare of Children identifies that bullying in schools is a particular problem and offers some guidance on the issue. It highlights the need for school management boards to have a policy in place to deal with bullying, and to ensure that teachers are aware of this policy and of procedural guidelines to deal with it.

The Department of Education and Skills deals with regulations and guidelines on the issue of bullying in schools. It is my understanding that the individual Board of Management of the school is the body responsible for the governance of the school, including responsibility for implementing effective policies to counter bullying. Any complaint of bullying should in the first instance be made to the Chairperson of the Board of Management. The Department of Education and Skills may subsequently become involved should it be necessary to review the handling of the complaint by the Board of Management.

Cyber Bullying

We are all aware that children and young people are very susceptible to the use of electronic media for bullying purposes, as use of this media, particularly for social networking, continues to grow. Research findings from the Anti-Bullying Centre in Trinity College recently indicated that one in four girls and one in six boys in Ireland have been involved in cyberbullying either as a victim, bully or both.

The Office for Internet Safety was established by the Government to take a lead responsibility for internet safety in Ireland, particularly as it relates to children. It was instrumental in publishing ‘A Guide to Cyber Bullying’ at the end of 2008. The Office advises never to have a personal conversation with a stranger, whether it’s by email, a chatroom, a social networking website or instant messenger. The National Centre for Technology in Education (NCTE) developed the website 'www.webwise.ie' which provides information and resources to teachers, parents and students to help ensure that children’s online experiences are positive and safe.

The ISPCC urges parents of children who spend a lot of unsupervised time on the internet to become better informed about online safety and to communicate with their children around the rules and boundaries of internet usage. It is worrying that many secondary aged children do not use any privacy settings on their social network profile; clearly indicating that many young people are not taking necessary and available steps to ensure their information is kept private. Internet usage, also possible now on many portable devices, is set to become even more popular, so vigilance is required. In order to combat bullying simple steps can be taken such as saving the evidence, telling a parent, and crucially not responding to the bullying behaviour. I intend ensuring that responses to cyberbullying will be further prioritised in the new Children & Young People’s Policy Framework being prepared by my Department.

Homophobia

My Department provided funding in 2010 towards “Addressing Homophobia - Guidelines for the Youth Sector In Ireland”, developed by the BeLonG To Youth Services. This is an important resource to help raise awareness of homophobia and to support the youth sector in preventing and addressing homophobic bullying.

Serious Bullying considered to be Abuse

Serious instances of bullying behaviour, whether by other children or by adults should be reported to the HSE Children and Family Services and/or An Garda Síochána in accordance with the procedures outlined in the Children First Guidance.