Tony Dempsey (Wexford, Fianna Fail)

Tá áthas orm labhairt faoin fhadhb seo sa díospóireacht an-thábhacthach seo. I thank the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, for his visit to St. Senan's Hospital in Enniscorthy last week, when he met experts in the field of suicide. I also thank him for his positive approach to try to address the causes of suicide. I compliment Deputy Neville on the hard work he has been doing in the same area.

All politicians have to be alarmed at the increasing rise in suicide. In my county of Wexford, I would like to extend my sympathy to those recently bereaved by suicide. We have had more than our share. If rates of suicide rise, they have to have something to do with community. It is time that one of the sociology departments in our universities examined an area like my county and did an in-depth survey of how the community has changed. I am convinced the changes have given rise to increases in suicide. Drug abuse is a new phenomenon. There is a diminished spirituality which once gave hope to people. It has often been replaced by despair. Alcohol abuse is at a new level and the increase in wealth has allowed young people to buy alcohol. The points system in the leaving certificate may well be a contributory factor. One of the highlights of my school career was to play hurling. That has largely disappeared. Many people are afraid to play hurling and rugby with their school because they may not get the points that are part and parcel of the rush to university. When one does not engage in social education in school, be it soccer or debating, it can lead to a kind of isolation. Our system no longer allows for it.

Recently, we had a survey by the planning department of Trinity College on the ideal village in Kilmuckridge, County Wexford. It is high time we asked one of our college departments to analyse community changes. It is almost impossible to look at television without witnessing one form of violence or another. On popular programmes such as "The Late Late Show", people are often interviewed on violent crime, be it recent murders in Northern Ireland or whatever. Violence is part and parcel of everyday life, with 100,000 people dead in Iraq and where we in Ireland can look at that on television. People are no longer afraid of death or of the consequences of it.

A survey might help to identify the causes of loneliness. Task forces set up in 1998 and 2001 identified depression as a contributory factor. The breakdown in marriage may also be a contributory factor. A famous sociologist, Durkheim, identified three different types of suicide. If memory serves correctly, one was altruistic, one anomic and the other egoistic and egoistic suicide was higher among single people than married people. Therefore, relationships may well be a contributory factor. The issue for politicians is not just about spending money, of which a considerable amount has been spent, but more about identifying the changes in community living that are a contributory factor.

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