Fine Gael TD for Dun Laoghaire, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, has called for action against cyber bullying ahead of the Bully4u conference taking place in Dublin Castle tomorrow (Monday).

“I am delighted to have been asked to chair the Bully4u conference on cyber bullying. Bully4u is a not for profit organisation committed to understanding, communicating with and empowering young people affected by cyber bullying. Respected and knowledgeable speakers will come together tomorrow to raise awareness of the dangers of cyber bullying and to discuss how we can tackle this problem.

“Cyber bullying has brought bullying to a different level. No longer can young people temporarily escape – the bullies online are always there and their power is immense. This poses a huge problem for parents, teachers and anyone who interacts with children.

“The purpose of this conference is to empower key education workers and health staff, to enable social media practitioners, to be able to identify threats and trends, and contribute to policy submission to the Government, the EU and the UN.

“Some excellent speakers including MEP of the year for the Digital Agenda, Sean Kelly and Simon Milner of Facebook have a lot to contribute to this very important discussion.

“As a former teacher I know the perils of cyber bullying and it is clear to me that we need to take action without delay. The Bully4u conference will make a significant contribution to the debate and I expect there will be many excellent ideas which will contribute to making positive change in this area.”