Máire Hoctor (Tipperary North, Fianna Fail)

North Tipperary has the highest rate in Europe. The mid-west region which Deputy Neville, the Minister of State, Deputy Tim O'Malley, and I represent, has high suicide figures, which is very saddening. This is a huge social concern and we cannot understand why so many take their own lives. Suicide defies the application of any hard and fast certainties arising from research into the phenomenon.

Some 96% of Irish suicides are related to mental illnesses, ranging from depression to schizophrenia. I am particularly concerned for north Tipperary in this regard. GPs and nurses have been campaigning for improved mental health services in the area for some time and have been supported by Deputies from every party. The current north Tipperary team consists of one consultant psychiatrist, one clinical psychologist, one addiction counsellor and one social worker. The team, which provides general practitioner contact and support, day hospital interventions, outpatient clinics, day centre services and domiciliary interventions, serves a growing population of 70,000 people. There are no weekend services for psychiatric or mental health care in north Tipperary at the present time. If an emergency is clearly identified, the person must be referred to St. Michael's in Clonmel which is 50 miles from Nenagh and 70-miles from Lorrha, the most northerly parish in Tipperary. This is unacceptable. There is no public transport system in place to accommodate people who must travel to Clonmel under such circumstances.

After-hours psychiatric posts advertised in October 2002 have not been filled and seem to have evaporated. The Minister of State should investigate the matter. There are plenty of psychiatric nurses qualified for such positions but a shroud of mystery covers the health services in the mid-west region. Responses are poor and contact is not up to the expected standards. Where did the jobs go? Were they adequately advertised? There is a great need in north Tipperary and the greater mid-west region for these posts to be filled and services to be provided.

I pay tribute to the voluntary sector, particularly the Living Links programme for which north Tipperary has again received funding this afternoon through the Department of Social and Family Affairs. The programme involves volunteers who engage in very rewarding and valuable work in north Tipperary and other areas. The Rainbows programme is aimed at school-going children, from primary to secondary level. Within parishes, it is targeted towards children who have been bereaved. Unfortunately the service is only provided once the bereavement has taken place. It is increasingly important that supports be put in place so that there is less need for them. We must address the issue early on and not after the event.

I wish to highlight the deficit of weekend services and the supports in place in Limerick. The Minister of State, Deputy O'Malley, will be familiar with these schemes. The scheme to which I refer is based in Limerick Regional Hospital and has been running for four years. The services are provided until 3 a.m. at weekends. If only north Tipperary had the same support in place. I pay tribute to the staff at Glenroyd in Tyone, Nenagh who provide mental health services for the greater north Tipperary area. However, they are in dire need of increased services and support. This issue must be urgently addressed and I have been pushing the Department of Health and Children for these services to be improved.

It is difficult to legislate for an issue such as this. We can, through our education system, help young people to become better communicators. It is no coincidence that the national rate of suicides has risen greatly as our society has become modernised and detached from traditional community life. We need to do more than simply provide a troupe of mental health professionals. This country takes pride in the fact that we are the greatest exporter of software and excel in the area of information technology. Technology means greater communication but there is a greater need for parent-child interaction in the family home. People must be facilitated with flexible working hours so that they have more time with their children during the precious childhood years.

The development of interpersonal skills in schools, sports clubs and playgrounds has been damaged by the increasing isolation experienced by the population as a result of the daily stresses and pace of life. In rural communities such as north Tipperary the mechanisms for dealing with these changes are only being developed. Irish society has had to modernise quickly and, for the most part, it is doing well. However, we cannot become complacent and ignore those struggling in the wake of this transition.

Two weeks ago the Sunday Independent rather cruelly described many of today's suicides as emotional tantrums; the result of traumas such as discovering one is homosexual, the dissolution of a romantic relationship, parent-child conflicts and dashed expectations for a perfect life. However the article made a good point when it stated that we are not furnishing young people with the emotional tools to deal with life's downside, something that no Government can prevent.

I welcome Deputy Gay Mitchell's comment with regard to the need for greater spiritual awareness and renewal. It is a controversial issue within our schools. However, as Ireland has become more secular, the supports of a growing spiritual life have been challenged. Spirituality is a vital support for people who have experienced trauma and are therefore prone to depression. The education system has much room for improvement in this regard.

A double approach to general mental health and awareness must be developed. Greater social justice and access to educational opportunities have greatly improved the lives of many in north Tipperary, but not in every case. There are people for whom the Celtic tiger never happened and whose community life has altered so much as to be unrecognisable from that which existed in 1990. Unprecedented debt and addiction to new substances have challenged many. The growing belief that success and happiness can be measured in terms of material wealth will bankrupt the very people who are least prepared to navigate the new economic landscape of the nation. Suicide is a product of these and many other factors, although it would be an insult to the dead to attempt to list them all.

The Offaly County Coroner, Mr. Brian Mahon, noted that most suicide cases are completely different but have a common thread, such as mental illness and alcohol and substance abuse. The Government must aid nurses, doctors and teachers in providing an accessible and caring holistic approach to those who contemplate suicide. We must combat it with life skills, emotional awareness and communication. Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

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