Over 30% of children reported being bullied in school in 2018.
That's according to the government's latest State of the Nation's Children report.
It also found more than 24,000 households with children needed social housing in 2020, with 13.2% of the population at risk of poverty.
James O'Higgins Norman, Director of DCU’s National Anti-Bullying Centre, says teachers play a major role in tackling bullying:
"Where these issues become a problem is when they're kicked down the road by the teacher, where they're unsure and more people become involved, and it becomes a bigger issue than it had to be.
"That's not an easy situation for the teacher to be in, they have a duty of care to the child involved in carrying out the bullying as well as the target.
"And sometimes it's hard for the parents of the target to appreciate that."
