Ms Anne O'Connor:

The data we have on suicide are provisional data for 2016 from the Central Statistics Office. Overall, the data suggest that suicide across all ages has reduced in total by approximately 11.5%. Within that we can see a reduction for males of nearly all ages. The 55 to 64 age group is the one area where it increased in 2016. In women, there has actually been an increase in the rates overall. What we have then in 2016 is a 15.2% reduction in the rate for men and a 6.5% increase in the rate for women overall. The increase in females is in the older age range from 35-plus rather than in youth. The youth rate has reduced across both genders.

The Deputy asked if there was something there that we can learn from. There are a number of factors here. One is the environment. The economic environment, for example, has led to a reduction in suicide. The provisional data suggest that in 2016 we dipped below 400 for the first time. This is provisional, of course, so there has to be a health warning on it, but it has been published. A number of other things have happened in recent years to lead up to this. The Connecting for Life strategy, for example, has allowed for a lot of cross-sectoral work, particularly in looking at local area plans. This really allows for a cross-sectoral ownership of mental health, looking at voluntary agencies and all of the different State bodies working in an area to change the message around mental health. We are seeing a lot of that. We are seeing much more positive conversation around mental health, with our current Little Things campaign, for example. We are seeing much more help being sought and more young people feeling more comfortable talking about mental health.

As part of the strategy we are also prioritising certain groups. These include youth, people who are homeless and people who are LGBTI. We are working very proactively with a number of groups. It is a combination of all of these factors that has led to these results, along with very significant training. Through the National Office for Suicide Prevention we have invested in a lot of training in many organisations and State bodies. We are also working very closely with An Garda Síochána and all Garda trainees now get safeTALK and applied suicide information skills training, ASIST. Most youth workers and youth agencies have also now been trained. We offer mental health and first-aid training. The approach is multifaceted. It may be the case that greater awareness is having an impact but it is too early to say yet.