TEXT BULLYING is a thorny issue, but it seems networks outside of Ireland are taking the lead when it comes to tackling and are using technology developed by Irish firms.

Although Irish mobile operators recently told an Oireachtas committee last month that there were no technological solutions at present to adequately prevent bullying by mobile phone, work has been continuing to produce something that will please parents and networks equally.

Irish-based companies Anam and Sentry Wireless have been in discussions with mobile networks around the world to try to tackle the problem.

According to international research, one in 10 children has been the victim of cyber bullying, and almost 20 per cent admitted to being perpetrators.

"There's a lot of attention around the fact that SMS in the wrong hands can be used to bully children," said Jote Bassi of Anam. "Its making the headlines; there is a definite need for this service."

Anams technology, which allows parents to control and monitor their child's mobile phone usage, has already been used by mobile network Telenor to deploy a parental control service for its subscribers, Mr Bassi said. He said there has been some interest from Irish networks in its technology.

Anam's service is a Sim-based application, which means it can be used on a wide range of handsets. It blocks unwanted messages at the request of a parent or guardian.

The Kidsafe option from Sentry Wireless can be more restrictive. It blocks all contact from numbers that are not on an approved "white list".

"It allows parents to teach children how to use their mobile phone responsibly," said Sentry chief Matt Norton. Parents can approve a list of numbers in their child's phone book - these are the only people the child can communicate with via calls or texts.

The product is Sim-based, which can mean limited space for messaging. However, Mr Norton says Kidsafe prompts users to delete or move messages, or automatically delete older messages.

Sentry is currently meeting operators in Europe. The M1 network in Singapore uses the technology. "With any new technology, it can present a challenge and questions for an operator. We dont see any difficulties," said Mr Norton.

A spokeswoman for O2 said the company was in talks with a number of firms, including Sentry Wireless and Anam. "We currently offer parents the option of 'dual access' on their childs mobile phone account. This gives them access to the account records held by O2."

Vodafone also offers dual access to a child's mobile phone, and will block specific numbers from contacting a child's mobile on request.

A spokeswoman for 3 Ireland said: "we are looking into potential solutions to prevent bullying over mobile phones and hope to have a robust solution to market very soon".