Gerald Nash (Louth, Labour)

I welcome the opportunity to make a contribution on this important debate. I wish my colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, well in the task ahead. I know she has a deep personal interest in this matter. I also pay tribute to the groundbreaking work done by Deputy Dan Neville over the years on highlighting this issue. I recall approximately 15 or 16 years ago when I was involved with the students' union in UCD I invited Deputy Neville to speak to students and he made a very interesting and inspiring presentation.

Suicide rates in this country have reached disturbing levels. A national consensus is required on a determined, forthright and inclusive national effort to save lives in the face of this crisis. The CSO records that in the second three months of 2010, 127 people took their own lives. The deeply troubling rates of suicide continue to climb each year. On its website, the National Office for Suicide Prevention refers to these climbing figures as a "worrying trend" and I completely agree. It is, frankly, a national emergency which requires those of us in positions of responsibility to build towards a comprehensive national response.

What makes the situation particularly disturbing is the fact that the frequency of suicide is highest among men in their 20s. We are all aware of the emerging trend whereby suicide occurs at a much younger age than was previously the case. This is a deeply troubling fact which requires the attention and focus of all of us.

In terms of mortality rates, recorded incidents of suicide exceed the number of deaths on our roads, and this has been the case for a number of years. When we switch on the news on a Sunday morning, it is not uncommon to hear of multi-vehicle car crashes throughout the country claiming multiple young lives. That same weekend there may have been several cases of people having made the tragic decision to take their own lives. Suicide is a different matter entirely; it is a relatively silent, but equally painful phenomenon and experience for those who have been left behind. We do not hear about it the same way as we do about road crashes. It is treated differently by the media for very legitimate reasons. I want to acknowledge the responsibility shown by the national and local media throughout this country in terms of the sensitivity demonstrated and expressed and the care and professionalism shown in general in coverage of incidents of suicide, its aftermath and how the matter in general is dealt with.

An enormous amount of work is done by the National Office of Suicide Prevention and organisations such as the Save Our Sons and Daughters organisation based in my constituency. They are all dedicated to dealing with this multi-faceted and complex social challenge.

As a public representative, since this deep recession hit I have seen a sharp increase in the number of people experiencing serious distress and mental health difficulties. Some have confided that they have at one stage or another considered taking their own lives. Public representatives are in the front line. It is important that Deputies and all public representatives are guided by the relevant agencies to be able to identify people who are at risk and in difficulty, and in so far as is practicable, given the confidential nature of the relationship Deputies have with their constituents, to direct them to those who can support them best. It would be more than useful if agencies made themselves available so we could all work together to try to develop a model and framework in which we would be better equipped to deal with the issue ourselves and ensure we could direct people the relevant support and agencies.

We need to break the silence and tackle the stigma around mental health. We must engender a culture of openness and frankness in which discussing one's mental health is seen in some respects as a strength rather than a weakness, as has unfortunately been the case in Irish society until now.

There will soon be an opportunity to embark on a review of the Mental Health Act 2001 and we should use that to do some simple and straightforward things. We must emphasise the need for mental health services to be brought into the open and we must resource community-based organisations to better engage with those who need mental health service support. I accept that progress has been made already in this regard but far more must be done. I look forward to working with the Minister of State and Members of the House who have an interest in this issue on progressing this and ensuring we have the best possible services for those who need them most.

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