John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chair. I was watching the earlier proceedings and I noted down a few points. I like the report submitted to us from the Samaritans and the presentation was interesting from several perspectives. I am not judging, but, as Ms Stack was just saying, the Samaritans organisation brings a certain amount of expertise to the partnerships into which it enters compared to many other organisations. The Samaritans deals with serious partners and I suspect that aquid pro quo is expected from those partner organisations to allow the Samaritans to follow through in its services. I was not aware of the contact with the Diaspora, for example, and I am interested in that aspect. What better partner could there be in that regard than the Department of Foreign Affairs and how they approach things? I refer to the Department ensuring that things are done professionally and I imagine that it would not take on something like this in haste. It would be a well thought through undertaking.

In addition, while some organisations come and go, the Samaritans have been with us for 60 years. I did not realise it was quite that long. It is, therefore, an enduring organisation. It is still rather unsung and quiet, which I guess is the way the organisation likes it. I was intrigued about the mental health of those working with the Samaritans, but Mr. Fitzgerald addressed that issue. I was also interested in another point raised. I do not know if this is a particularly Western thing, but when people ask if we might be free for a chat there is a tendency to automatically assume that advice and solutions are being sought. I practised as a psychotherapist and active listening is something that we could all learn. It can actually be a terrible burden when you think someone is coming to you for advice and looking for a solution as opposed to them just looking for an ear to listen. That can be so therapeutic in itself, without the listener saying anything and perhaps just nodding his or her head. The most significant aspect in this regard is knowing that the person on the other side of the phone line, or the web chat in this case, has the skills, training and ability - and if they are really good, it will not be possible to even know it - to contain whatever issues are raised.

It was also mentioned that we were fighting for years and still are fighting against the stigma around depression. As a society, however, I think we are slowly coming to terms with articulating such experiences in a much better way than we did some decades ago. Another important issue is loneliness. Someone who used to be a colleague of ours, former Senator Keith Swanwick, undertook a good body of work on the subject of loneliness during the last Seanad. He is also a GP. Feedback would be welcome from the Samaritans in respect of what the organisation thinks it might be possible for us to do about loneliness.

The Chair asked what we could do to help the Samaritans. Curiously, the organisation does not have significant requests to make of us. That is a tribute to how contained the Samaritans is as an organisation. One aspect is resources, but the witnesses did not come in here to scream about resources. They came in to tell their story and the story of their organisation during Covid-19. I was intrigued by the technology aspect as well. It is vital. I was very taken with the overall presentation, the booklet and the comments. The Chair asked the witnesses what they need, but they do not have a great many needs. My question then is why have the witnesses come before the committee.