Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are two viewpoints regarding the issue of mental health and suicide in Ireland, one being that we are facing an epidemic in the not too distant future and the other that we are already in the middle of that epidemic. Figures released by the European Child Safety Alliance in March show that Ireland has the highest rate of suicide in Europe among young females and the second highest rate among young males. What is going on in this country that we are seeing such worrying statistics? Part of the answer can be found in the recession and austerity policies of the past six years, which have led to huge job losses, home repossessions and homelessness. Men and woman in all age brackets have been thrown into mental health crises as a consequence and some have ultimately died by suicide.

According to NGOs and specialists in this area, there is a particular mental health impact for men who have lost their jobs and livelihoods. Societally enforced ideas of masculinity, which place an emphasis on their being the breadwinner and provider, are also a factor. These ideas emphasise the importance of being a strong man who takes everything in his stride and does not speak about his feelings to friends, family or professionals. When people get knocked off track and feel they have failed to live up to these and other stereotypes, it can lead them to self-harm or even take their own lives. There is not a family or community across this island that has not been rocked by suicide.

I wish to send a clear message this evening to everybody in this Chamber, in the Visitors Gallery or watching at home that it is okay not to feel okay. It is a very important message. I have attended too many funerals of suicide victims, all of which saw a huge turnout. What everyone says on such occasions is that if the person who has died had only known how many people cared and were willing to help, things might have turned out differently. Not long after I was first elected to this House, I was asked to identify the remains of a friend of mine in a field in Tallaght. To this day, I am haunted by the memory of Seán lying dead in that field. Another case in my constituency involved a young child who came home from school one day to find her mother hanging in the attic. What does one say to a child in that situation? In yet another instance, a woman, tiny in stature, came to me seeking help for her son who is 6 ft. 3 in. and suffers from psychosis. She told me how he had beaten down the door, assaulted her and even threatened to rape her. What does one say to a mother in that situation? Should one advise her to telephone the Garda Síochána or to seek out professional help that might not be available? These are the types of difficulties facing people on a daily basis. Deputy Ellis spoke about families presenting at hospital emergency departments and begging the services to take their loved one in. What happens too often, however, is that they are released and some end up taking their own lives.

We need to tackle this epidemic. We have heard the figures in regard to staffing levels and so on. We have heard heart-breaking stories of parents in absolute despair and begging for help only to be turned away in many cases. We are all agreed that this is a massive problem and now is the time for action. It can be tackled effectively with the right resources and funding and, more importantly, the right approach. The message that should go out to those who are hurting is that there are people who love them and will want to help them. That is the message we are all trying to get across. We should also be able to say to the people out there who are seeking support that it will be provided, whatever the difficulties in terms of resources and so on. We all want to see an adequate service delivered, and the responsibility to achieve it rests on us all.

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