Dr. Philip Dodd:

I thank the Deputy for his raising these very important issues. I shall specifically answer the question on the broadcast of "13 Reasons Why" and the tension between the balance of freedom of expression and freedom of the press versus social responsibility. It can be very difficult for us to understand the impact a careless description of an episode of self-harm can have on vulnerable individuals in creating a triggering experience. The one benefit that we have in Ireland, and I have said three times so I have probably over-emphasised the fact, is that we do have good self-harm data. As one will see from that data that will be published tomorrow, in May 2018 there was a surge in self-harm presentations at emergency departments across the country that coincided with the broadcasting of the Netflix series called "13 Reasons Why".