Tim O'Malley (Limerick East, Progressive Democrats)

I thank Deputies for their contributions on an issue which clearly hits a nerve within society. The fact that 20 Deputies spoke indicates the importance with which the matter is regarded. I will attempt to address some of the main points raised in the debate.

I congratulate the Sub-Committee on High Levels of Suicide in Irish Society on the report it has put before us. I assure the House that my Department and the HSE will pay close attention to the report's recommendations, many of which have already been taken on board by the Reach Out programme launched in September 2005. We will give further consideration to any recommendations which have not yet been implemented with a view to acting on them.

The issue of alcohol consumption in Ireland was raised by almost every speaker. I will undertake to speak to my Cabinet colleagues on that issue because we now have scientific evidence on the relationship between alcohol and suicide. We will have to investigate the increase in consumption in society.

Several Deputies suggested that targets should be set for the Reach Out programme. The chairman of the sub-committee, Deputy Moloney, feels strongly that such targets should be put in place, although I am open minded about the matter. I will consult the head of the National Office for Suicide Prevention, Mr. Geoff Day, in that regard because, irrespective of whether a target is reached, its very existence means that progress can at least be measured.

References were made to the lack of psychotherapists and counsellors. We have established a number of training programmes in this regard, graduates of which will shortly supply the numbers of professionals needed.

I concur with Deputy Healy with regard to his support for self-referral. GPs should be able to refer patients directly to psychotherapists rather than sending them first to consultant psychiatrists because putting a depressed person through a series of hoops will only cause further problems.

We are aware of the problems caused by the points system for the leaving certificate but nobody has been able to devise a better system.

Questions were asked by several Deputies regarding how members of society can look out for each other. Long ago, when we did not have television, people conversed with each other more often and the community spirit was better. Unfortunately, that spirit has suffered in modern society. The Taoiseach is a strong advocate of volunteerism and the Cabinet is giving its attention to the issue. In the past, people in the country always helped each other but, nowadays, people can live in a huge estate or a concrete jungle without knowing their neighbours and, if the parents do not know anybody, we can be sure their children will feel the same sense of alienation.

One speaker suggested that each county should set a target or delegate responsibility to one person for suicide prevention. Around the country, liaison officers are already employed who do a great deal of valuable, if largely unseen, work by liaising with troubled families, schools and accident and emergency units. Most of the officers are either counsellors or psychiatric nurses and have special training in this area.

Some 11,000 people deliberately self-harm every year. Mention is often made about the lack of resources in this area but, until recently, when people presented to accident and emergency units after self-harming, medical professionals tended to treat them and then allowed them leave the hospital without any follow-up care. That may be an issue of best practice rather than simply a resource problem. Given that people who presented to accident and emergency units after being severely injured in accidents received follow-up care, is it not ironic that, until recently, there was no follow-up care for patients who self-harmed? Almost every accident and emergency unit now employs psychiatric nurses to liaise with patients.

Reference was made to the importance of early intervention by child and adolescent services. Several speakers noted that the recovery rate is 90% among those for whom early diagnoses are made. Medical evidence suggests that 95% of people with depression can be treated in the community. Those figures seem to indicate a lack of diagnosis of depression by GPs. We need more targeted education of general practitioners to ensure they identify people with depression, otherwise they will cause self-harm and end up in hospitals.

I do not claim the child and adolescent psychiatric services are all that they should be: they are not. However, resources have increased significantly. In 2005 we had 56 consultant psychiatrists and this increased to 70 in 2006. Obviously each consultant psychiatrist needs an associated team. It takes some time to gather those teams, including social workers, nurses, psychotherapists and counsellors, and we are working at forming those teams.

Deputy Hayes said we should have tests for those driving while under the influence of drugs. While the Government has investigated the matter, a solution is not easy to find. We would need to determine the level of cocaine, cannabis or ecstasy involved. Considerably more work remains to be done in that regard.

Deputy Keaveney spoke about music therapy and greater use of the creative arts for people. I intend investigating the matter further. There would be considerable merit in considering it for people who may feel depressed. The Deputy also mentioned that some people refer to cannabis as a soft drug. It is not a soft drug. The latest information suggests cannabis causes major psychological problems and leads on to psychiatric problems.

I have been here since 11 o'clock listening to each of the 20 Members who spoke. I will be discussing the matter with my colleagues in the Cabinet to ascertain what we can do to alleviate the suffering and pain being experienced by all the families affected. This is not just a problem for Government and there is no point scoring involved. The Government and the Dáil must face up to the problem and ensure that it gets our best attention.

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