Thomas Pringle (Donegal South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Mental illness and suicide are major problems in our society. There are three times more deaths by suicide than on the roads every year. This week Turn the Tide of Suicide launched a campaign for the establishment of a suicide prevention authority. It is time this proposal was given very serious consideration, as up to 700 people take their lives by suicide every year. Over 300,000 people suffer from mental illness, while 75,000 self-harm every year. Surely this represents a crisis of national proportions. The National Office for Suicide Prevention is clearly limited and underfunded. Being part of the HSE, it is not independent and cannot be an advocate for vulnerable persons. The programme for Government contains a commitment to ring-fence €35 million annually for mental illness initiatives, but one must ask where this funding has gone to. Have mental health services expanded or has the money been used to close gaps in the health budget? We have seen the success in recent years of the Road Safety Authority in reducing the number of road deaths, notwithstanding the terrible tragedies in recent days. A suicide prevention authority could achieve similar results. It needs a Government commitment to establish such an authority and ensure it would have an adequate budget to operate effectively. Will the Government give that commitment and start the process of closure for the thousands of families, loved ones and friends who have been bereaved by suicide? Such a commitment could, over time, result in people at risk receiving help and the toll on our society being reduced.

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