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

I will return first to Deputy Ó Snodaigh's question regarding what comes next. Reach Out as a strategy is part of A Vision for Change, which is supposed to conclude in 2014, but that is not set in stone. The previous plan we had for mental health was a 1983 plan and the one previous to that was a 1940 plan. I do not intend to maintain a similar gap and shortly we will put together a group of people who will look seriously at what should come after A Vision for Change. Now we have put in the resources, we must consider what exactly we want. This strategy will include a review of Reach Out. The review has already started and Mr. Gerry Raleigh has done an in-depth analysis of it.

In response to Deputy Boyd Barrett, there is good research informing us that for every 1% increase in unemployment, there is a 0.75% increase in the suicide rate. We have the figures and in 2003, for example, suicides numbered 497, of which 111 were female, which is significant because women do not usually follow through. This figure reduced slightly in 2004 and again in 2006 and 2007. However, it rose again in 2008. Therefore, Deputy Boyd Barrett's point is relevant, because it was in 2008 when the bubble began to burst. The figure rose again in 2009, but reduced in 2010. It rose again in 2011 and reduced again slightly in 2012. The Irish population is very small compared with that of Greece, France or other European countries, and if anyone from those countries looked at our total numbers, they would probably not be very impressed, but for us the figure is unacceptable. It is a fluctuating number.

The amazing thing regarding young men committing suicide is that until recently, they were usually students and recession was not a significant factor. The benefit of research is that we can look at the figures. We were all quite shocked to see how many students were involved. These were people whose whole lives were ahead of them. They were at college and living the dream, but there appears to have been an absence of hope and a feeling that there was nothing worth living for. Suicide is quite a complex issue and is not one that lends itself to just one strategy or a one size fits all approach.