Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

We will never reach a point at which we will eliminate death by suicide. There may be years in which it does not happen or suicide deaths do not flash on the radar. Suicide has been an issue across the world. We simply did not count incidents well or acknowledge them to a great extent.

We need to capture information on who is dying by suicide, most notably large numbers of young men. Unemployment and the recession have had an effect, in that the age groups involved have moved from the 25 year olds to the 45 year olds. This pattern has settled again. All of the research tells us that there is a brief period in which we can do something for people who are in distress, lack hope and do not believe that they have anything worth living for. It is important that they know where to get help.

Deputy Ó Snodaigh was dead right. If something has happened in a family or community, people may believe that it happened because services were not available and, therefore, they must produce those services. We must get the message out that a service is available, there is a clear line of access and people do not need to set up their own groups or helplines. One can understand why they do this, but a major concern is whether their message is right. One needs to be careful when advising people who are in a vulnerable state and when directing them towards another party. I could not agree with the Deputy more. It is awkward when a Member must tell someone who has stepped up to the plate and offered to help that the person's proposal would not help.