Damien English (Meath, Fine Gael)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. I compliment everyone involved in producing this report. I am not expert in this area. Like many Members, I look up to people like Deputy Neville and others who are experts and try to learn from them. We also try to learn from our friends and families — every family has been touched by suicide or mental illness.

Speaker after speaker has said how knowledgeable Deputy Neville is on this subject. Yet, if Deputy Neville were to introduce a Bill dealing with this, it would probably be voted down by those on the other side of the House. We should forget about politics and do what is right when it comes to an issue such as suicide prevention. If we can learn from each other then let us do so. I believe the Minister of State and many Members of the House have a genuine interest in this subject. If we believe Deputy Neville and others are so knowledgeable on this subject, then let us listen to them and do what they say. While I accept that politics will intrude in other areas, it should not intrude in an area such as this.

Previous speakers have compared the incidence of suicide with the level of death on the roads. They have contrasted the support and funding suicide prevention gets with that of road safety. There is also the issue of public perception. People are often angry over road deaths. The number of people dying on the roads is rising and its gets much publicity. The number of people dying by suicide is much the same but it does not get nearly as much coverage or provoke anger. People believe that most road accidents can be avoided, that accidents can be prevented and people do not have to die. This is a source of the anger, and we tackle it with more funding, public awareness campaigns etc.

People do not perceive suicide in the same way — they do not think it is preventable. Most people assume suicide will happen no matter what we do or how much money we spend on preventing it. That is not true. People need to realise that suicide can be prevented in many, but not all, cases. The public should have the same anger over suicide as it has over road deaths. If this anger existed, people would demand better services, more funding, and demand that the Government tackle it. We have an onus to lead the public and seek their help in tackling the problem. The message that suicide is preventable needs to be articulated.

Earlier this week I spoke about young people and their attitude to driving. They do not believe that an accident can happen to them. They believe they have the skills to drive at 100mph and not crash or kill someone. We are failing to get the message across to young people and others who drive recklessly that it can happen to them. The same applies for suicide. We need to let young people know that this can happen to them, their friends or their family. Young people who abuse drugs or alcohol do not believe they will become addicted. They do not believe that dabbling with drugs will lead to problems in five or ten years' time. Just as we are failing to get the message across in the areas of road deaths and suicide, so we are failing to get this message across too. Perhaps it is on this we need to hone in. How do we get through to young people? How can we talk to them on their level? I am a young person and suicide affects a high percentage of my age group. We will need a strong effort to put the message about suicide across.

When one asks young people about the problems of suicide and what the solutions are, they will talk about simple things. They seek counsellors in their communities and schools. Many schools have counsellors, or have access to them if they require, but young people do not believe they have someone they can talk to and seek advice from. While one can often talk about the roles of parents and teachers, we must accept that life is not the way it once was. Parents do not always have the time or understanding to give to their children. There must be someone in the community that young people feel they can talk to.

The community has a major role to play in preventing suicide. I was struck by a comment the parish priest made when the five young girls were killed in the Navan bus crash. He said it takes a community to raise a child. That is what we forget these days. The community is dwindling and the community spirit we once had no longer exists to the same degree. Not everyone is involved. Years ago there was time to look out for young people growing up, to keep an eye out for them. The same support structures no longer exist. Sadly, that is how life is in many areas and we must try to rekindle that spirit. We must also provide more services to lend a listening ear to people who need help.

I welcome the report and its recommendations. Many of them involve listening to young people about their concerns related to mental health. We must not, however, spend too long listening; we know what the issues are. Young people have spoken to us all, the message has got through and the experts are aware of the problems. We must act as well. People talk about pilot programmes but I have a problem with them. We have all the research from various countries and we know what is right. We should just act. Pilot programmes are a delaying tactic. We should put the money in place across the board. If a pilot programme is needed in County Meath, it is needed everywhere else. We can learn from Canada, Australia and other countries that have been successful in tackling this.

Suicide is a major health concern for Irish youth and we must tackle it. I have been to enough funerals of young people who have taken their own lives, I have seen the horror and trauma it causes for their families and their communities. We have all experienced this but we still do not do enough to prevent it. We must wake up and do our best to stop this.

Suicide is not a disease in itself, it is the most traumatic, tragic and unfortunate symptom of a major illness in Irish society, the lack of care and regard for our fellow man and woman, and the lack of a joined-up society populated by fully rounded and mentally healthy people. This is caused by pressures of life and modern society, an education system that puts pressure on young people, bullying and intolerance.

It is important that mental health is not confused with mental illness. Mental health involves the whole person, how he feels about himself and interacts with others. It is important to have friends, good relationships at work and mechanisms for coping with the stresses of life. We must realise that we are not all perfect. Young people are under pressure, they do not feel they are perfect but think they should be as a result of the messages from the media. Parents are often not in a position to offer the necessary gifts or powers to their children to help them to deal with these issues. We must help. In many cases, parents say they would like to attend parenting courses. A person who wants to adopt a child must undergo an 18 month course but can have a child without any advice, lessons or counselling. It is time to examine this area. Are all parents equipped with the tools to pass on to their children what they need?

I am not here to blame the Government or the HSE, we must all do our part. The community must be empowered to act and given the necessary resources. We must put community spirit at the centre of planning and development so that we develop areas where people can grow up with the necessary help and where they do not feel they must all be the same. Pressure to conform and do well can cause serious problems.

Assist in Newfoundland and Mental Health First Aid in Australia are successful courses. Those dealing with potential suicide victims or others with mental health problems find these courses useful for identifying and preventing problems. Frontline staff across the board in health and youth services should be able to attend such courses to better equip them to spot potential problems.

We can continue to talk about this but we must act to prevent any further increase in the numbers of those who have decided to take their own lives for various reasons. Many of those reasons can be addressed, just like with road deaths.

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