Ms Gillian Leo:

I thank the Chairman and members of the joint committee for giving us the opportunity to address them on a topic that is very important to Samaritans but, more importantly from my perspective, extremely important to our callers. For the past ten years I have been volunteering with the Kilkenny and Carlow branch. From an organisational perspective, I am a member of the board of trustees and the chairperson of Samaritans Ireland Nations Board. I am one of more than 1,600 volunteers in the Republic who volunteer with Samaritans to provide emotional support for our callers 24 hours a day, seven days a week. We are available weekdays, including bank holidays, morning, noon and night. We are available when the statutory services have closed and strive to deliver a truly professional service on a voluntary basis. While the emotional support we provide is typically provided over the telephone, we also provide support by e-mail and text message, in face to face contact and other outreach support services. We provide confidential, non-judgmental emotional support through human contact.

The strategic partnership with the telecommunications industry last year enabled us to launch the free-to-caller 116 123 number and it has had a significant and very positive effect on our callers. On every single duty, without fail, I see the benefit of the service in what our callers tell us and also our statistics. There has been an increase of 50% in the number of calls to us since March last year, which is clear evidence that the cost of making a call to us was a barrier. Before the free-to-caller service was launched, running out of credit, particularly a pay-as-you-go mobile phone, isolated a person in contacting us but that is no longer the case.

Before the free to caller service, itemised landline telephone bills would show that somebody contacted the Samaritans from the telephone line. Since the free to caller service, that call is no longer on the bill, ensuring somebody who may be isolated in the home and under pressure from the bill payer does not have to explain both the cost and, more important, the contact. This is no longer a problem. These are two very simple examples of how a free-to-caller service can enable a door to be opened for somebody who is vulnerable, for somebody who needs the support of an established organisation that wants to be there for them 24 hours a day. There are other barriers that our callers face that we continue to work on, such as the reduction of stigma and encouraging help-seeking behaviour, but we know, week in and week out from listening to our callers, that the cost of that call was a barrier. Through our partnerships with the Department of Health and the National Office for Suicide Prevention, the Samaritans is the first place anybody who is struggling to cope seeks support and having this as a free-to-caller service is making a difference.