Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to speak on the important issues of suicide and suicide prevention. I congratulate the Independents and the Technical Group for tabling this motion. Naturally, as a Minister of State, I might not agree with every sentence in the motion but it has formed the basis for a valuable discussion. While the quality of the debate has been high, it has also demonstrated that no side of the House has a monopoly on compassion. Suicide is a subject that touches the lives of every Deputy nowadays. I have listened carefully to the contributions and I was stuck by their high standard, both yesterday and today.

The motion refers to statistics and it is not a bad point of departure to examine the statistical position. Deputy Gormely summarised it fairly in concluding that the statistics were remarkably low decades ago, even allowing for the fact that there may have been, and probably was, an element of under reporting. There has been a noticeable shift in recent times. There is no doubt that, in particular, the number of young males committing suicide has increased significantly in the last decade, with 305 such deaths in 1994, rising to 358 in 2003.

It is important to point out, contrary to what is suggested in the motion, that youth suicide in Ireland is not the highest in the European Union. The most recent analysis, however, does suggest that it is the fifth highest, which is a very high ranking in European terms. As regards the overall suicide rate, Ireland ranks 17th in the European Union. It is obvious from this statistic that while our general rate of suicide is not especially high compared to other EU member states, our rate of youth suicide is very high. That is quite a remarkable disparity. Recent figures suggest that the rates have stopped rising. Perhaps we have come to the end of that period of rapid social change, to which Deputy Gormley referred. We may not have come to the end of it, but it is correct to say that we experienced the fastest rising rate in Europe in the 1980s and 1990s, albeit from a low base rate that may have included an element of statistical inaccuracy. These are, therefore, worrying trends which require further research to back up our strategies.

We can touch on the causes of this difficult problem, a number of which were pinpointed by Deputy Gormley. He referred, for example, to the culture of alcohol abuse. While it is a clinical fact that the consumption of alcohol causes depression, this is not well known, particularly among young people. We must continue to point out this fact because it often helps those who realise they are depressed to overcome the problem. Although the period of depression for many abusers of drink is short term in character, persons, particularly younger persons, who abuse alcohol are in a vulnerable position during this short period.

Deputy Gormley also referred to the decline in traditional religious belief systems. There is no doubt this has also played a part in recent rapid social change. This creates a challenge in the educational context to ensure schools not only impart information but also assume a role in forming character. All the different patrons in primary schools are concerned about this issue and are promoting definite ethical curricula, irrespective of the ethos from which they come.

As Deputies are aware, there was a marked reluctance to discuss the issue of suicide in the past. Since the 1998 task force report we have had available to us a template for analysing our efforts in this area. Many contributions focused on the recommendations of the task force report. We have made significant progress in implementing the report. For example, a suicide resource officer has been appointed in each Health Service Executive area. In addition, the national suicide review group, National Suicide Research Foundation and national parasuicide registry have been established and liaison psychiatric nurses appointed to accident and emergency departments in general hospitals. Provision has also been made for training relevant health care personnel in regard to suicidal behaviour and such training is ongoing in all Health Service Executive regions.

Furthermore, legislation has been enacted restricting the availability of medication which can be used to overdose. A social and personal health education programme has been developed and is now compulsory for all junior cycle students in secondary schools. A directory of services has been published in each Health Service Executive area for those who may be at risk of suicidal behaviour. A new Form 104, the form on which the Central Statistics Office figures are based, has been developed and a Garda inspector has been nominated in each division to oversee its use and completion.

These are just some examples of progress made to date. Much greater detail about various initiatives under way around the country can be found in the annual report of the national suicide review group which is laid before the House each year. As Deputies will be aware, many of the recommendations of the task force require continuous development, particularly in the areas of training and the enhancement of mental health services. I would like to address the development of mental health services for adolescents in greater detail but, unfortunately, insufficient time is available to do so. The Minister of State with responsibility for mental health services, Deputy Tim O'Malley, is committed to making progress in this area.

See this speech in context