Dangerous levels of bullying continue to be widely experienced in schools, according to a watchdog.
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission says it's also common in other youth settings and online.
The Commission noted continuing high rates of bullying and cyberbullying amongst schoolchildren and many anti-bullying policies fail to protect children from ethnic minorities, LGBTIQ+ children, and children with disabilities.
The IHREC has described bullying as serious public health concern and has published a new Action Plan on Bullying and Cyberbullying with over 100 recommendations.
Chief Commissioner Sinéad Gibney said, bullying can have a very harmful effect on children, with parents or guardians often "completely unaware of the suffering and stress that their child may be under ... especially with cyberbullying.”
“Therefore, as children prepare to return to school, we stress the urgency of implementing the action plan on bullying and cyberbullying, centring the experiences of those who are often targets of bullying, ethnic minority children, disabled children and LGBTIQ+ children, and informed by their active participation.”
The Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission is also calling for schools to no longer be run by religious orders in the long term.
