Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 July 2023
301. Deputy Patrick Costello asked the Minister for Education when the implementation plan of the national action plan against bullying will be published; how much will be allocated to implement it; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34214/23]
View answerCineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying is Ireland’s whole-education approach to preventing and addressing bullying in schools. Cineáltas, published on 1 December 2022, is dedicated to the prevention and addressing of bullying, cyber bullying, racist bullying, gender identity bullying and sexual harassment in schools. It is centred on a child right’s based approach and provides a collective vision and clear roadmap for how the whole education community and society can work together to prevent and address bullying in our schools. Cineáltas builds on the achievements and ambition of the previous Action Plan on Bullying published in 2013, taking into account the work undertaken in recent years to ensure that our schools are safe and happy places for all our children and young people.
My Department launched the Implementation Plan for Cineáltas on 10 April 2023, which is available at gov.ie - Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying (www.gov.ie)
The Implementation Plan for Cineáltas commits to implementing each of the 61 actions contained in Cineáltas within a five-year period and sets out timeframes and information about how my Department is going to implement the actions.
One million euro has been provided in 2023 to progress a number of the actions contained in the plan.
An Implementation and Evaluation Group has been established to oversee implementation of the actions. Annual implementation and evaluation reports, informed by feedback from children and young people, parents, school staff, education partners, key stakeholders and relevant agencies, will be published.
Implementation of a number of actions has already progressed. These include the following:
My Department has recently established a Student Participation Unit, which will promote the participation of children and young people in the development of department policy, building on its existing work in this area
• An Expert Group has been established to advise my Department on how best the Student Participation Unit can progress its work. Professor Laura Lundy, Professor of Education Law and Children’s Rights at Queen’s University who developed the Lundy Model of children’s participation is chair of this Expert Group
• Work to update the anti-bullying procedures for schools is well underway with Continuous Professional Development and training being developed for all school staff, Board of Management members and parents
• €5 million is being invested to pilot a programme of counselling supports for primary school students. This will serve to support the very positive work which already takes place in the area of wellbeing in schools.
