Mr. Éamonn Ó Briain:

On the question of whether the stigma features throughout the country, I was at a presentation on Tuesday delivered by a member of Headstrong, which is planning on starting a Jigsaw initiative in Limerick. The organisation surveyed young people across Limerick city on mental health, and on the simple question as to what constitutes mental health, the majority of answers referred to drugs, alcohol, depression, suicide and schizophrenia. There was not one positive answer; they were all purely negative. It is difficult to state directly what can be done about it. In Limerick, we are trying to put a pack together promoting positive mental health. At our annual general meeting, we focused solely on what one can do to deal with stress and stay positive. It is a question of going out to promote the fact that there are ways of coping with problems. It is not a question of showing the various illnesses or their symptoms. While doing so is important, it is more important to educate people on how to stay positive at school and deal with stress.