Marc MacSharry (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for attending. I wish to pay tribute to Senator Gilroy, our colleague, for his work so far. I know he has a very special interest and has done considerable work in this area. The Fianna Fáil members of the committee, Deputies Troy and Kelleher, and I, will give our own policy, entitled Actions Speak Louder than Words, to Senator Gilroy as our submission to the committee. Some of those present may be aware of that policy which was prepared about a year ago.

I fully agree with Ms Freeman of Pieta House. Governments and politicians do not have the solutions and will never have the solutions. We are all tired of what happens following a high-profile incident. There is shock and horror, and shouting from the rooftops about what has to be done and the reports that are needed. It goes on for about a week and then if falls away.

While I agree with everything the witnesses said, I am not sure we agree on how to achieve it. The Government of the day is responsible for the structure and resourcing to allow the organisations represented here to excel at what they do. They are the super heroes in this regard. They peel back the blindfold on the phenomenon of loss of life through suicide. There is nothing we can say here to teach them how to cook the burgers in McDonalds, so we will not try to do that.

However, the correct structure needs to be in place and we need the appropriate resourcing for that structure to excel. I certainly do not believe that is the case at the moment. I fully agree that the National Office for Suicide Prevention is overwhelmed, overworked and under-resourced. While I do not expect people from the office to agree with me, their efforts are hampered by being subservient to an organisation that has financial challenges on a daily basis. The Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, would agree with me that when the chips are down the first money to be cut is from the mental health area. That is why I believe responsibility for this area must be removed from the HSE - it needs to be an organisation in itself.

As the organisation knows the area best, it should define the national policy. The old policy has not really worked although it has some great aspects. We need to draw up a new policy quickly and get on with it. There has been enough talk and as the witnesses have rightly said, action is what is required. The Scottish model has shown us what can be done, with a 16.7% reduction in eleven years; this is a battle we can win. We know two planes are going to crash next year and we know where, but what are we doing about it? The witnesses are doing the best they can with almost no resources.

Our estimate - it is available online for those who want to see it - is that the National Office for Suicide Prevention is under-resourced by €80 million based on what is needed. We will submit our proposals to Senator Gilroy, who can factor them into his work.

I believe that as a nation we are emotionally illiterate and are doing nothing to teach people how to be angry and what anger is, how to be sad and what sadness is, and how to cope with the various emotions in life. There is no teaching in that regard of which I am aware. Among other items, we proposed that guidance counsellors be restored to schools, including primary schools. We proposed that SPHE should include that kind of emotional training and for it to be extended into the senior cycle to prepare students for the difficult challenges of life. While the issue might be repossession for one person, it could be depression for another person and relationship break-up for someone else. There is no exact science to this.

While all the witnesses are doing a great a job, the one thing the Government should do is to put the correct structure in place and begin to resource that structure. At that point the work of the Legislature will be done and the organisations represented here can do the rest. Apart from those organisations, which are the high-profile ones, there is a plethora of organisations throughout the country that are engaged in superficiality. Following an incident in a community, money is raised and goes somewhere. However, are we having the kind of penetrative impact that such a level of effort should have? The answer is "No" because we pay lip service to putting the correct structure in place and resourcing it. That is what needs to change.

I am aware of all the organisations represented here today and have read a considerable amount about them. My only question is on the emotional literacy.