The Irish Second Level Students’ Union has welcomed the launch of new Anti-Bullying procedures. These new procedures and guidelines, aimed at addressing and preventing bullying such as homophobic and transphobic bullying, and particularly cyper-bullying. This will be mandatory for all schools . ISSU Equality Officer, Conor Lynott, said; “These new mandatory procedures will greatly improve the lives of all of our young people in making the school environment a safe and happy place for young people to grow and achieve their full potential.” ISSU President, Mark Caffrey, said; "The steps taken by the Department have been very positive in recent years when it comes to bullying. Now that schools have had a good chance to look at the department regulations and recommendations it is clear that schools will no longer have any excuses for developing their own local policies on bullying. We wholeheartedly welcome the new regulations. These reforms fit perfectly into the ethos of our second-level schools and are built around the action plan on bullying which the ISSU had a direct role in developing".