Mark Ward (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

It is difficult. I have been dealing with families who are doing their best to mind their children, but when their children are outside, it is difficult to mind them all the time. I agree with Ms Connolly. There is a cohort of good young people who are not sporty, in youth clubs or interested in school. When there are gaps in services, young people tend to fall through them, and that is when the dangers show themselves.

I agree that there needs to be alternatives. There needs to be a cross-departmental and multi-agency approach, not only to mental health, but also to the matters we are discussing. One hat does not fit everything. As legislators, we need to start cross-departmental approaches. The budget was just passed and each Department is mindful of using its own budget, but if there was a cross-departmental budget from which two Departments could pull funding, it could work. Getting one Department to fund something under another Department is difficult because people are mindful of their budgets. That is my tuppence worth.

I wish to pick up on a point, although I do not want to sound like I am lecturing because that is not my style, and if I did not say that now, I would be kicking myself later. I come from north Clondalkin in Dublin Mid-West. It had one of the highest rates of youth and adult suicide in the State at one stage. Many of them were people whom I went to school with and grew up with. It is no coincidence that the very first Jigsaw and Pieta House projects were in my area. The community demanded something because they - or, rather, we, as I am part of that community - were very worried. As I was entering the room, I heard the term "committed suicide", so I wish to raise the matter with the witnesses. That term adds to the stigma. I do not want to lecture people on this, but "committed" views something of a crime. What we have learned in our community down the years is that changing the language helps young people and others to speak about suicide. "Died by suicide" is the term we use.

According to Mr. Church, over the past year, the ISPCC has received 26 contacts per week from children who are suicidal or having suicidal thoughts and 923 young people who have spoken about self-harming. What is the ISPCC's referral pathway for children who are feeling suicidal or actively self-harming?