I add my voice and that of my party in condemning the brutal scenes in Navan when a 14-year-old child was brutally assaulted. That should never take place. BeLonG To, the youth LGBT organisation, released figures today from 2022 research which found that 76% of young LGBTQI+ students in schools found schools to be unsafe. What is the Government doing to ensure schools and public spaces are safe for young LGBTQI+ students?

I thank the Deputy for raising the issue and I share his horror at the violence and nature of that attack. I too have met representatives of the LGBTI community, especially young people who articulated on a personal level to me the bullying they have been subjected to. In some instances young people have to leave a school and go to an alternative school. That has happened. We must work harder to ensure our anti-bullying strategies penetrate or get traction on the ground. The Minister developed and launched the policy framework, Cineáltas: Action Plan on Bullying, in November last year. It is a multi-stranded programme. It is a good programme, but we must ensure that we resource it on the ground and that it has a real impact in school communities.