Dr. Philip Dodd:

I thank the Minister of State and I thank the Chair for the question. ASIST is a very important training offering provided throughout the country free of charge by the National Office for Suicide Prevention and delivered in collaboration with the 22 suicide prevention co-ordinators throughout the country. Unfortunately, as the Chair referenced, because of the infection control restrictions that were required, ASIST and other such face-to-face training had to be paused. On the other hand, safeTALK, which I describe as a more basic training platform and offering, worked with the training developers, LivingWorks, to develop an online version called Start, which has been provided free of charge as an alternative offering to key members of the community and professional groups who have sought this type of training.

As far as I am aware, the National Office for Suicide Prevention is very closely monitoring the infection control guidance emanating from the HSE with regard to the resumption of safe face-to-face training. As I understand it, this will begin as restrictions are reduced over time. In the Department's engagement with the National Office for Suicide Prevention it emphasises the importance of the resumption of face-to-face training specifically in the area of suicide prevention. We know at Department level this is a very important component of suicide prevention and the Connecting for Life strategy.