Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to mark UN International Day against School Bullying

School bullying, Cyberbullying and Internet Security during Covid-19 will be discussed with senior academic staff  from DCU’s National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre, which should  be of significant interest to the Students, Parents, School Principals, Teachers and the broad education community throughout the country.

Speaking in advance of the meeting, Committee Chairperson, Paul Kehoe TD, said: “Tomorrow, November 5 is a very special day. It is the First UN International Day Against Violence and Bullying at School, including Cyberbullying. The Joint Committee and I are honoured to have the opportunity to publicly support such an important international event. I would also like to commend Professor James O’Higgins Norman, Director and the staff of the DCU National Anti-Bullying Research and Resource Centre as I know the Centre has been instrumental in establishing this day.

"I genuinely hope that it plays a pivotal role in highlighting this issue and encourages all those involved in education to commit to an inclusive culture in schools so that bullying is never tolerated. I also hope that the voices of young people are heard and listened to in this important work and this is a key priority for the Committee.”

Chairperson Kehoe added: “The opportunity to have Thursday’s witnesses before us is invaluable and timely, and I hope schools across the country, will, perhaps, mark or even celebrate this special day. It is fitting that the national experts Dr. Seline Keating, Dr. Tijana Milosevic and Dr. Angela Mazzone will share their expert knowledge and give us an insight into an issue that can have such an adverse impact on the lives of young people “

Chairperson Kehoe concluded: “Thursday’s meeting will look at the data on this topic, the impacts, and solutions which the witnesses can propose, as the Committee intends to do further work on School Bullying and the Impact on Mental Health. The reality is children who are frequently bullied are nearly three times more likely to feel like an outsider at school and more than twice as likely to miss school as those who are not frequently bullied. The evidence shows that children and young people who are bullied often have worse educational outcomes than their peers and are also more likely to leave formal education after finishing secondary school.”

Tomorrow’s meeting in Committee Room 2 can be viewed live on Oireachtas TV.

For more information about the work of the Joint Committee on Education, Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science see the Committee webpage