Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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236. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which allegations of bullying have been investigated in the case of a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37748/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Responsibility for tackling bullying in schools falls to the level of the individual school.

Updated Anti-Bullying Procedures for Primary and Post-Primary Schools were published by my Department in September 2013. These procedures and the associated Department Circular 0045/2013 apply to all recognised primary and post-primary schools and to centres for education (as defined in the Education Act 1998) which are attended by pupils under the age of 18 years.

School authorities and school personnel are required to adhere to these procedures in dealing with allegations and incidents of bullying. The purpose of these procedures is to give direction and guidance to school authorities and school personnel in preventing and tackling school-based bullying behaviour amongst its pupils and in dealing with any negative impact within school of bullying behaviour that occurs elsewhere.

The procedures require all schools to formally adopt and implement an anti-bullying policy that fully complies with the requirements of the procedures.

They also provide that where a parent is not satisfied that the school has dealt with a bullying case in accordance with the procedures, the parents must be referred, as appropriate, to the school’s complaints procedures. In the event that a parent has exhausted the school's complaints procedures and is still not satisfied, the procedures require that a school must advise the parents of their right to make a complaint to the Ombudsman for Children.