Enda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)

I agree with the Deputy in this matter, which has been a source of concern and interest for me for many years. From our political party, Deputy Neville raised the question of the impact of the tragic phenomenon of suicide for more than a decade. The Government has appointed the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to have specific responsibility in this area to deal with mental health and the issue of suicide. As the Deputy is aware, a number of programmes, including Sea Change, Ripple and others, deal with this central issue. I have been in too many kitchens in homes throughout the country where the depth of silence and pain is unspeakable in the sense of the tragedy of suicide. It is happening all too often particularly to young men in towns and cities. It is only by interacting with families - as the Deputy has done - where this tragedy has visited their door that one can understand its implications and consequences.

I will make arrangements for the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, to make statements in this regard at an appropriate time in order to increase the awareness of both of these areas and to outline what she will be able to implement this year, bearing in mind budgetary constraints. As part of the introduction of changed systems in health proposed in the programme for Government, the mental health area will be treated as a normal element of what will be provided in primary care centres. As the Deputy is aware, 70,000 people a year attempt self-harm and there are at least 300,000 people on an annual basis who suffer from elements of mental health illness. This is an area that is important to many people and yet in many ways it has been forgotten. The Minister of State, Deputy Lynch, will see to it that does not happen.

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