Paudge Connolly (Cavan-Monaghan, Independent)

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

—notes the following matters of grave and urgent concern;

—the latest statistics reveal that suicide now accounts for 50% more deaths annually than road accidents — 444 last year as against 293;

—suicide is the most common cause of death among 15-24 year-olds in Ireland, and the highest in this age group of all 25 EU states;

—the suicide rate in Ireland is rising faster than in any other EU country, and the rate among young females doubled between 1992 and 2000;

—the highest rate of suicides over the past five years is among young men in the 20-29 age group;

—in 2003, 11,200 parasuicides, or attempted suicides, presented at hospital accident and emergency departments across the country;

—the correlation between suicide and factors such as unemployment, living in poverty, bullying, relationship break-ups, legal and work related problems, alcohol and drug abuse, physical or sexual abuse in childhood and social exclusion;

—student counselling services in third level colleges across Ireland are stretched to capacity, with lengthy waiting lists over the past two years despite having extra staff employed;

—the slashing of the mental health budget to 6.8% of the total health budget from its 1997 level of 11%, despite continuing to claim more lives annually; and

—there are only 20 inpatient beds with specialised services for adolescents with mental health problems, despite a Government-commissioned report recommending in 2000 that at least 120 such beds are needed;

calls on the Government to:

—immediately implement the 86 recommendations of the 1998 report of the national task force on suicide on ways to prevent and reduce the incidence of suicide or parasuicide;

—establish a national suicide prevention agency to coordinate the services provided by various authorities throughout the country;

—provide a comprehensive programme of multi-disciplinary research and investment in suicide prevention strategies;

—improve awareness of suicide by ploughing extra resources into educational programmes and mental health services;

—address the problem in second-level schools by the inclusion of mental health and psychology in the curriculum;

—increase funding for student counselling services at both second and third levels, and diminish the aversion and stigma attached to seeking counselling, particularly among young males; and

—develop an effective strategic action plan for both the prevention and reduction of suicide as an urgent national priority.

I propose to share time with Deputies Cowley, McGrath, McHugh, Cuffe and Crowe.

To date, a considerable part of the suicide debate in Ireland has centred on horrifying statistics, with the use of which I feel increasingly uncomfortable. It is almost as if the shocking road traffic death toll is being legitimised to make a comparison with suicide deaths. Neither type of death is acceptable, nor is there an acceptable level of death in either circumstance. Sudden death in any form has devastating consequences, no matter what house it enters.

Death rates from suicide are not driven home to the same extent as road traffic deaths, regarding which we are presented with a weekly head count, regular bank holiday warnings and road carnage being reported faithfully in the media. Do we have the same weekly pattern of carnage with suicide? Nobody knows, because we do not have the same preoccupation with this silent killer, merely receiving an annual summary. Again we are back to the issue of statistics.

Regarding the road traffic mortality-suicide comparison, we have no forewarning of a road traffic death, but we have warning signs of suicide. The real tragedy is that society is failing to note the warning signs and symptoms which should enable preventive measures to be taken to help reduce the incidence of suicide. I call for a full audit of each recorded suicide to enable us to understand the full circumstances of each suicide and to prevent further suicides.

Hard questions need to be asked. Did an individual seek professional help? Did he or she present at an accident and emergency unit, or show signs or symptoms of depression? Had there been a previous parasuicide or self-harm incident? Did he or she express concern to an individual or family member, or seek psychiatric assistance? If so, what was done about the problem?

Currently, a suicide is followed by a post-mortem, and later a hearing at a Coroner's Court. That is all, in effect. One moves on to the next business. That is not acceptable. We need an audit. If people need to be held accountable, so be it.

Regarding funding, how can anyone justify the expenditure of a mere 8% of a road safety awareness budget on suicide prevention programmes? That is not enough, nor is it logical. Does a correlation exist between the alarming increase in suicides, now running at ten per week, and the steep reduction in the mental health budget from 11% to less than 7%?

I can offer a concrete example of underfunding in the case of an eight year old child whose parents were concerned and knew the child needed an assessment. They sought a psychological assessment of their child, only to be told that only absolute emergencies, involving an immediate risk or threat to the child's life, could be catered for at that time. It is not acceptable for an eight year old child to be left in such a situation. Must we wait until a child's life is clearly at risk? Early detection, early treatment and better outcomes are needed.

A German project has recently been tested in Cork and Kerry and is to be welcomed. It has four dimensions. An enlightened GP workshop points out the warning signs and symptoms of suicide. People who have been involved in self-harm are targeted first. Key professionals are then trained. They can be social workers, gardaí, priests or teachers. A public awareness campaign is then instituted. This project was introduced in Nuremburg in Germany resulting in a 26% reduction in self-harm incidents while in Würzburg, over the same period, there was a 24% increase in such incidents.

An Australian project involved different initiatives which led to a 30% reduction in self-harm and suicide incidents in Australia. A Canadian project also resulted in a reduced incidence of suicide. There are projects in operation which have worked, yet we are testing them on a pilot basis. It is as if we are unsure that they will work in Ireland even though they have worked worldwide. I do not see why they should not work here. It is like suggesting we re-invent the wheel. If something works in Germany, Australia or wherever, let it work here. We should implement the Cork-Kerry programme nationwide.

Most of us think of health as a physical manifestation in terms of people looking well, but there is also a mental dimension. Physical health can be quite apparent. We can see when someone is ill, or has a broken arm. We wish such people well, and they get our sympathy. We can also see when people are not looking well, and quite often, before people go to a doctor or seek help, prompts come from a spouse or family member. It is older men who need such prompting. In the mental health field, however, signs and symptoms are not seen. How can one prompt someone if one cannot see if he or she is well or not? One cannot know what is going on in a person's mind and one has no way of telling a mentally unwell person to seek help. The motivation of such people to seek help is greatly reduced.

I call on the Government to take some action which will save lives and to take the Cork-Kerry project countrywide. The media are doing a good job in recent times — I have been monitoring them in terms of how they highlight suicide.

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