€500,000 action plan to tackle bullying

A €500,000 plan of action on tackling bullying in schools will be published within weeks by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn, amid growing pressure to deal particularly with the impact of cyber-bullying.

Mr Quinn organised a forum on bullying in the summer and has received a draft action plan from officials of his own and other government departments. They have spent the last six months considering submissions by experts and interest groups, including representatives of parents, students, teachers, and school managers to the forum.

“The anti-bullying working group explored the need to update the existing 1993 guidelines to explicitly refer to homophobic bullying, cyber-bullying, and any other forms of bullying which have become more prevalent in recent years,” said a department spokeswoman.

She said €500,000 has been secured for 2013 to fund actions arising from the plan, which is to be published in the coming weeks.

The plan is being finalised as Justice Minister Alan Shatter awaits advice on legal changes that may be needed to allow cyber-bullies to be charged with criminal offences. It is understood laws dealing with harassment may need to be amended because of past difficulties in cases of sexual and domestic violence and the need to demonstrate persistent behaviour.

Fine Gael TD Fidelma Healy Eames said bullying has not been treated seriously enough but the funding of Mr Quinn’s plans should have a positive effect on the lives of many young people.

“It will make boards of management and all school staff more aware of the attention that bullying must receive, in building safe and happy school environments for our children,” she said.